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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

Cliaj)..._/-3, Copyright sNo. 



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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



TIME AND THE HOUR 

The Characteristic Literary 
Weekly of Boston 

TIME AND THE HOUR aims to present each 
week the best sentiment of a City whose opinions 
and activities have never failed to carry weight 
throughout the Nation. In a briefer and more Amer- 
ican fashion, it is planned somewhat along the lines 
of the English reviews. 

" That admirable weekly." — Springfield Republican. 
'* Its distinctive and refreshing features are its indom- 
itable truthfulness and courage, its literary flavor, 
and its downright cleverness." — The Church. 

Single copies 5 cents. 
Subscriptions $2.00 a year. 
Sample copies on application. 

Time and the Hour Company 
6 Beacon Street, Boston 



If you want 
to know about 



Winthrop Real Estate , 

see 

FLOYD AND TUCKER, 

34 School Street, Boston, 
and at Winthrop. 



WALKS AND RIDES 

IN THE COUNTRY 
ROUND ABOUT BOSTON 

COVERING THIRTY-SIX CITIES 

AND TOWNS, PARKS AND PUBLIC 

RESERVATIONS, WITHIN A RADIUS 

OF TWELVE MILES FROM THE 
STATE HOUSE 



BY 

EDWIN M. BACON 




i^ 



-c 



'0 1 



l^ulJtigbeb for tbe ?tppalacbian .JMountain Club bp 

HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN AND COMPANY 
BOSTON AND NEW YORK 

(Cbc C^tnenfftDe Pre^^, Cambri^oe 

1897 



Copyright, 1897, 
By Appalachian Mountain Club. 

All rights reserved. 



The Riverside Press, Cambridge, Mass., U. S. A. 
Eleetrotyped and Printed by H. O, Houghton & Co. 






CONTENTS. 



The Boston Basin 1-G 

WiNTHROP, BeACHMONT, AND REVERE BEACH 7-17 

Walk No. 1. — In Winthrop 7 

Walk No. 2. — Beachmont ; Crescent Beach ; Revere Beach ... 14 

East Boston and Chelsea 18-31 

Walk No. 3. — Boston (North End) ; East Boston ; Breed's Island ; 

Beachmont 19 

Walk No. 4. — In Chelsea : Powderhorn Hill ; Mount Washington ; 
Naval Hospital grounds ; site of Samuel Maverick's 

first house 2G 

Everett, Malden, Melrose, Saugus 32-46 

Walk No. 5. — From Everett to Maiden : the Van Voi-fiees farm ; 
B.elmont Hill ; Woodlawn ; Linden ; Maiden Cen- 
tre 33 

Walk No. 6. — From Maplewood (Maiden) to Cliftondale (Saugus) : 

Lebanon Street ; Swain's Pond ; Upham Street, 

Melrose ; the Saugus road ; the Ledges .... 37 

Walk No. 7. — From Maiden to Saugus : Pine Banks ; Boston Rock ; 

Wj'oming ; Melrose ; North Saugus ; Cliftondale ; 

Saugus Centre •. 39 

Middlesex Fells 47-65 

Walk No. 8. — From Cascade Entrance, Melrose, to west of Pine 
Hill, Medford : the Cascade ; Black Rock ; Shilly 
Shally Brook ; Cairn Hill ; Hemlock Pool ; Spot 

Pond ; Silver Mine Hill 48 

Walk No. 9. — From Pine Hill Entrance, Medford, to Wyoming 
(Melrose) : Pine Hill and woodlands ; Wright's 
Pond region ; Spot Pond ; Woodland Road ; Ra- 
vine Road ; Virginia Wood 52 

Walk No. 10. — From Winchester Entrance to Melrose : Squaw 
Sachem Rock ; the Tower ; the Causeway ; Win- 
chester Reservoirs ; Bear Hill and Observatory ; 

Cheese Rock ; Doleful Pond 55 

Walk No. 11. — From Maiden Entrance to Melrose Highlands : 
Bear's Den ; Boojum Rock ; Jerry Jingle Notch ; 
Hemlock Pool ; Shiner Pool ; Virginia Wood ; 
Saddleback Hill ; Whip Hill 61 



IV CONTENTS. 

Charlestown and Somerville CG-81 

Walk No. 12. — In Charlestown : Navy Yard ; Bunker Hill Monu- 
ment grounds ; the ancient graveyard, John Har- 
vard monument ; Charlestown Heights , . . . 67 

Walk No. 13. — In Somerville : Prospect Hill ; Central Hill ; Revo- 
lutionary landmarks ; Old Powder House ; Tufts 

College 74 

Medford 82-105 

Walk No. 14. — Ten-Hills, on Mystic River side ; Old Medford : the 
Royall House ; Main Street ; old garrison house ; 
the Cradock House ; Wellington 82 

Walk No. 15. — In West Medford : along the riverside ; Hastings 
Bluff ; High Street ; Provincial houses ; the In- 
dian monument ; the arch canal bridge ; the Weirs 99 
Arlington, Turkey Hill, Mystic Ponds 106-118 

Walk No. 16. — From Arlington, over Turkey Hill and by Mystic 
Parkway, to West Medford : Revolutionary land- 
marks ; Spy Pond 106 

Walk No. 17. — Arlington side of Mystic Pond, the Parkway by Up- 
per Mystic side to Mystic Station (Winchester) . 117 
Winchester and Woburn 119-145 

Walk No. 18. — In Winchester : the Parkway ; Grove Street ; 

Symmes's Corner ; Winchester Centre ; Winches- 

* ter Highlands : the John Harvard allotment ; 

Horn Pond Brook ; Wedgmere ; Rangeley . . . 120 

Walk No. 19. — In Woburn : North Woburn ; birthplace of Count 
Rumford ; the Baldwin mansion-house ; Hungry 
Plain ; Mt. Plainum ; Rag Rock ; Listening Hill ; 
Shaker Glen ; Military Lane ; Woburn Centre . 129 

Walk No. 20. — Mishawum : Richardson's Pond ; New Boston ; 
Ames's Corner ; Forest Park ; Mt. Gilboa ; Meet- 
ing-house Hill 139 

Walk No. 21. — From Cross Street Station to ilunroe Station, Lex- 
ington : Horn Pond and Horn Pond Mountain ; 

Ziou's Hill ; Munroe's Meadow 142 

Lexington 146-109 

Walk No. 22. — From East Lexington to Lexington Centre : Mt. In- 
dependence ; Munroe Hill ; Revolutionary land- 
marks ; Lexington Green and neighborhood ; the 
Hancock-Clarke house ; Granny Hill. By-walk 
to the birthplace of Theodore Parker 147 

Walk No. 23. — From Munroe Station, by roundabout way, to Ar- 
lington Heights : the meadow and the ridge road ; 
field and wood paths ; Ridge and Forest streets . 165 

Walk No. 24. — North Lexington : the Tidd Hill region ; Lover's 

Lane ; Robinson Hill 166 

Concord, by way of Bedford 170-208 

Walk No. 25. — In Bedford : the " Great Road " and its old houses ; 
" Fitch's Tavern ; " the Governor Winthrop Farm; 



CONTENTS. V 

the " Brother Rocks " on Concord River side ; the 
Shawshine Valley ; seventeenth century home- 
steads 173 

Walk No. 26. — From West Bedford to Merriam's Corner, thence 
through Concord : literary and historic land- 
marks ; the Battle-ground ; the rivers .... 181 

Walk No. 27. — In Concord woods 202 

Watertown, Waverley, Belmont 209-230 

Walk No. 28. — In Watertown and Waverley (Belmont) : Norse and 
Revolutionary landmarks ; Beaver Brook Reser- 
vation ; the Waverley Oaks 210 

Walk No. 29. — From Waverley through Belmont to Mt. Auburn : 
Wellington Hill ; the McLean Asylum grounds ; 
Belmont Village ; Belmont Street ; Pequosset 

Hill 223 

Cambridge 231-261 

Walk No. 30. — Cambridgeport ; Old Cambridge ; the College Yard ; 
university buildings ; the old buryiug-ground be- 
tween the churches ; Radcliffe College ; Brattle 
Street; old "Tory Row;" Mt. Auburn; Norse 
landmarks ; Charles River side ; Soldiers Field . 231 
Newton, Weston, Waltham 262-276 

Walk No. 31. — From Brighton to Newton Lower Falls: Bigelow 
Hill ; Nonantum Hill ; the Eliot monument ; New- 
ton Central Boulevard ; Chestnut Street to New- 
ton Upper Falls ; the Hemlock Gorge Reservation ; 
Waban by the river side to the Lower Falls . , 263 

Walk No. 32. — From Riverside, by way of Weston, to Waltham : 
the river path ; Weston roads ; Norumbega Tower; 
Norse dam and canals in roadside woods ; Pros- 
pect Hill 268 

Beookline 277-299 

Walk No. 33. — About Brookline Village and by circuit route to 
Chestnut Hill Reservoir : AspinwaU Hill ; Wahaut 
Street and the ancient burying-ground ; Warren 
Street ; Reservoir Lane ; Wright's Woods . . . 278 

Walk No. 34. — From Village Square into rural parts : Leverett and 
Jamaica parks ; Perkins Street ; Goddard Ave- 
nue ; Clyde Park and the Country Club house ; 
Boylston Street ; Fisher Hill 289 

Walk No. 35. — In Brookline woods 297 

West Roxbury 300-310 

Walk No. 36. — From Jamaica Plain, through West Roxbury Vil- 
lage, to Brook Farm : Jamaica Park ; historic 
houses ; Centre Street ; the Arnold Arboretum ; 
the Theodore Parker church ; Brook Farm woods ; 

Cow Island 300 

Stony Brook Woods and Region 311-317 

Walk No, 37. — From Bellevue Hill through the Reservation ... 311 



VI CONTENTS. 

Milton 318-332 

Walk No. 38. — From Milton Lower Mills, through Milton Centre, 
to Mattapan : Milton Hill ; the old buryiug-ground : 
grave of Wendell Phillips ; Academy Hill ; " Mil- 
ton Churches ; " old roads and lanes 318 

Walk No. 39. — From Mattapan over Brush Hill, across to Canton 
Avenue, and back to Milton Lower Mills ; Cross- 
man's Lane 331 

The Blue Hills 333-356 

Walk No. 40. — From the Blue Hill Entrance, over the southern part 
of the western section, to Randolph turnpike : 
embraces Great Blue, Wolcott, Houghton, Burnt, 
or Tucker hills 334 

Walk No. 41, — From the Blue Hill Entrance, over the northern 
part of the western section, to Randolph turn- 
pike : embraces the Great Blue, Wolcott, Hem- 
enway, Hancock, Tucker, Boyce, and Buck hills . 344 

Walk No. 42. — From the West Quincy Entrance, over the northern 
part of the eastern section, to Randolph turnpike : 
embraces Rattlesnake, Wampatuck, Fox, the 
Broken, Nohanton, Kitchamakin, and Chicka- 
tawbut hills 350 

Walk No. 43. — From Randolph turnpike, over the southern part of 
the eastern section, to West Street, Braintree, 
near Braintree Great Pond : embraces Hawk Hill, 
Braintree Pass, Southeast Ridge, or Faxon's Hill . 354 
Dedham 357-368 

Walk No. 44. — In Dedham village and outskirts : the Great Bend 
of the Charles ; Purgatory Swamp ; Fox Hill in 

Westwood 357 

Quincy 369-382 

Walk No. 45. — In and about Quincy Centre : the Stone Temple and 
tombs of the Presidents ; historic Adams and 
Quincy homesteads ; " Merry Mount " and Merry- 
mount Park 370 

Walk No. 46. — To Squantum Head and return 379 

RoxBURY, Dorchester, South Boston 383-397 

Walk No. 47. — In Roxbury, finishing at Franklin Park .... 383 

Walk No. 48. — From Dorchester to the Marine Park, South Bos- 
ton Point : Meeting-house Hill ; Savin Hill ; Up- 
ham's Corner and the old burying-ground ; Five 
Corners and the birthplace of Edward Everett . 389 



THE BOSTON BASIN. 



In one of his felicitous addresses to the entering freshman class, 
President Eliot, of Harvard University, characterized the country 
round about Boston as the most interesting historical region in the 
United States, and one of the most beautiful he had ever seen 
here or in Europe ; and he strongly advised his auditors " to learn 
the whole region by heart." In tliis was but echoed the sentiment 
expressed by countless visitoi-s who have spread the fame of this 
region far and wide. Within a radius of twelve miles from the State 
House, easily accessible, are many of the most notable landmarks 
and monuments of the Colonial, Provincial, and Revolutionary 
periods, and a territory spreading back from the shores of Boston 
bay, while thickly settled, yet still of remarkably diversified land- 
scape, enriched by lofty hills, broad sweeps of valley, masses of 
woodland, picturesque rivers, ponds, and brooks. 

This region lies mostly within what the geologists have called 
the Boston Basin, bounded by the bay on the east, the chain of 
mountainous Blue Hills lying in Milton, Quincy, and Canton, on 
the south, and the ridges of the Wellington Hills extending in 
irregular lines from Waltliam toward Cape Ann on the north : 
a country of about fifteen miles in width, popularly known as 
Greater Boston, although in fact embracing twenty-two independ- 
ent municipalities. In the larger area included in the Metropoli- 
tan Parks District, established by the State, is a commuiiity almost 
as closely knit, comprising twelve cities and twenty-four towns, the 
greater number of which are within the suburban systems of the 
railways terminating in Boston, and are brought into close connec- 
tion by a network of electric lines. 

Between the bounds of this district, all within the twelve miles 
radius from the State House, are Boston Bay and its seventy-five 
islands ; stretches of the finest beaches on the coast ; the boundary 
rock-hills of Boston Basin ; the great Blue Hills Forest ; the 
Stony Brook Woods in the midst of a populous quarter ; the lovely 
chain of public parkways and parks instituted by the city of 
Boston ; the celebrated Waverly Oaks, the most ancient group 
of oak-trees in New England, and Beaver Brook, of which Lowell 
has sung ; the rich preserve of the Middlesex Fells ; the wild 
Lynn Woods, one of the largest public domains belonging to any 
city in the United States ; the basins of the Mystic, Charles, and 
Neponset rivers, and other localities famous beyond the limits of 



2 THE BOSTON BASIN. 

Boston, Of this territory nearly 9000 acres (6671 in the Metro- 
politan Parks and 2162 in the Boston Parks system) are now 
reserved by law and maintained for free public use and enjoyment. 
The boundary of the Boston Basin, using that term in its geo- 
logic rather than its topographic or hydrographic sense, as indicated 
by Pi'ofessor William O. Crosby, is marked on the map below by 
the heavy black line. 




THE BOSTON BASIN. 3 

The physical and historical geography of the Boston Basin has 

been best outlined in the report of Mr. Charles Eliot, as landscape 
architect for the preliminary Metropolitan Parks Commission of 
1892-93, from which developed the permanent commission em- 
powered to establish and maintain pubhc open-space reservations 
Avithin the Metropolitan District. Briefly summarized, its features 
are as follows. Underlying the whole region are the rocks of 
the crust of the earth, the oldest and hardest of them rising in the 
two conspicuous though broken ridges marking the northern 
and southern boundaries of the basin. The northern mass, or 
the so-called Wellington Hills, broken in many places by deep 
transverse valleys, such as those of the Mystic, Maiden, and 
Saugus rivers, generally presents to the south a steep warlike 
front, about one himdred feet in elevation. In its eastern exten- 
sion the highland surface is exceedingly rough, with rocky knobs 
and narrow hollows, now and then rising into exceptionally high 
summits, such as Bear Hill (325 feet) in the Stoneham section of 
the Middlesex Fells, and Burrill's Hill (2S.j feet) in the Lyim 
Woods. The southei*n rock-mass, or the Blue Hills, differing from 
the northern mass, is carved into a dozen rounded and partially 
separated hills, steepest on their south sides, and varying in eleva- 
tion above the sea from three hundred to more than six hundred 
feet, being the highest hills standing thus near the coast of the 
continent from Maine to Mexico. 

Between the Wellington Hills and the Blue Hills, " much worn 
stumps or roots of ancient mountains," Mr. Eliot calls them, "lies 
a region some fifteen miles wide, in which the primitive rocks 
which form these mountain stumps have been depressed so far, and 
the secondary rocks which lie upon the primitive rocks have been 
worn doAvn so deep, that the sea has flowed over both and formed 
Boston Bay." But the waters of the bay wash against shores of 
rock only at a few points, the most conspicuous being the ocean 
fronts of Swampscott and Cohasset, Nahaut, the outer harbor 
islands, and Squantum, in Quincy. Such rocks as appear above 
the surface within the Boston Basin are of mixed kinds, among 
them slates and the conglomerate or pudding-stone ; but generally 
throughout this depressed region there is no solid rock in sight. 
Another material forms ahnost all the seashore, the river banks, 
and the dry land of the space between the massive uplifts of the 
basin boundaries. This material is composed of an enormous 
quantity of clay, gravel, and stones of all sizes and kinds, stufF 
which the moving ice-sheets of successive glacial periods bore 
away from northern regions and dumped in various sorts of heaps 
alike upon the uplifted and depressed parts of the rock foiindation 



4 THE BOSTON BASIN. 

of the district. The largest of these heaps still standing, great 
rounded hills of symmetrical form, called by the geologists drum- 
lins, are most conspicuous objects in its scenery. Lesser heaps 
take on the form of steep mounds and long ridges, often inclosing 
bowl-like hollows. Then there are large areas in which the glacial 
material has been so worked over by running waters as to produce 
nearly level plains almost free from boulders of large size. The 
rivers and streams of the region, turned and twisted by the accu- 
mulation of glacial stiiff , follow few sharply defined valleys, but 
wander along in an apparently aimless manner, contributing much 
to the beauty of the landscape. In the higliland parts rain-watei-s 
caught in rock-rimmed hollows,. or in basins formed by dams of 
glacial drift, make, even at the height of two hundi-ed feet above 
the sea, frequent ponds, or swamps ; while along the courses of 
the brooks and rivei's similar morasses appear at frequent inter- 
vals. "However it may be with respect to healthfulness," Mr. 
Eliot observes, " with respect to scenery these retardations of the 
waters in ponds and swamps are a very valuable and charming 
addition to landscape already wonderfully varied and pictur- 
esque." 

Between the ocean rocks of Marblehead, at the north, and 
Cohasset at the south, which guard the broad entrance to Boston 
bay, the salt waters sweep with an unbroken surface. Presently 
they meet various obstructions upon which are the marks of their 
destructive or constructive energy. The exposed rock peninsula of 
Nahant, on the northern side of the entrance, has been gnawed by 
the surf until its coast has become ragged and picturesque in the 
extreme ; but in return the sea has formed out of the waste of 
the land a beautiful beach-causeway connecting the island with 
the main at Lynn. Slightly further inland the waters meet the 
foremost of the great hills of clay and stones which the ice age 
left. Grover's Cliff and Great Head in Winthrop, Great Brewster, 
Point AUerton and Strawberry Hill, in Hull, still stand boldly in 
the front against the sea, although now but fragments of the 
originally symmetrical masses ; and from the feet of their steep 
bluffs long curving beaches " stretch away to unite themselves with 
the next adjacent movmds of hills, or else to join in never-ending 
conflict with some strong tidal current as at Shirley and Hull Guts." 
Once inside Point Shirley and Point Pemberton the waters play 
around numerous other drumlins, "here cutting a steep bluff 
out of the side or end of one of them, here, by building beaches, 
linking two or three together to form an island or a stretch of 
coast, or here again reaching far inland between the hills to receive 
the fresh waters of brooks or rivers." Behind the beaches and in 



THE BOSTON BASIN. 5 

all the stillest parts of the tidal regions are widespread levels of 
salt marsh, in which the tidal currents are ahle to keep open only 
a few sinuous channels. On the north the marshes and the salt 
creeks extend to the very foot of the rock highlands. Westward 
the salt water of Charles River reaches inland six miles from the 
State House. On the south the estuaries and marshes of the 
Neponset and of Weymouth Fore and Back rivers present beautiful 
pictures of mingled land and water. From ahnost any of the rock- 
hills or inland drumlins of the district, looking eastward on a clear 
day, the horizon of the sea is seen. 

The English colonists of the seventeenth century, coming into 
this region of "marvellously commingled waters, marshes, gravel 
banks and rocks," first settled about the steep drumlin hills of 
Shawmut, at that time surrounded and even divided by the tides, 
on the most accessible of the few smooth parts of the neighbor- 
hood, and wherever a navigable river or creek swept past a gentle 
slope of the glacial drift. From such settlements grew Boston 
(1G30) and towns now embraced withui its corporate Hmits, Lynn 
(1637), Medford (1630), Cambridge (1633), Watertown (1630), Ded- 
ham (1636), and the other elder townships of the colony. "The 
creeks were the first roads and the marshes the first hayfields.*' 
As the population increased, "men were forced to take up axe 
and crowbar in grim earnest. The great hills of boulder clay had 
to be made cultivable ; generation after generation labored with 
the trees and stones, and at last the rounded hills stood forth as 
mounds of green, marked and divided by walls of field stones, 
and sometimes crowned . . . with the white churches of the vic- 
tors. After two hundred years of these arduous labors, the neigh- 
borhood of Boston was a lovely land. The broad and narrow 
marshes still lay open to the sun and air, through them the salt 
creeks wound inland twice a day, about them lay fields and pas- 
tures backed by woods upon the steeper slopes, and across their 
sunny levels looked the windows of many scattered houses and 
many separate villages." [Charles Eliot.] 

The first streets and country roads followed very crooked courses 
because of the peculiar intricacy of the configuration, and when a 
city began to grow within the central parts of the Basin, long 
bridges and causewaj'S were thrust out across the flats in various 
directions, and turnpike roads were carried far inland. Then the 
flats along the causeways and in the coves and marshes were filled 
from gravel taken from the near hills, or brought, in later days, 
by railroad from more distant ones, and thickly built upon. Thus 
the original pear-shaped peninsula of early Boston has been ex- 
panded from seven hundred and eighty-three acres, cut into by 



6 THE BOSTON BASIN. 

estuaries, coves, and bays, to eighteen hundred and twenty-nine 
acres of solid land ; and similar expansions have been made on 
the water-fronts of its annexed territory. Of the original drum- 
lins here and in various parts of the Basin, some have been wholly 
dug away, others have great holes cut out of them, and yet others 
are surfaced with streets at steep grade, and faced thick with 
houses. Occupying this broad and deep basin is now what appears 
to be one great city and connecting suburbs, with no external 
characteristics to mark the ending of one and the beginning of 
another, containing altogether nearly forty per cent of the entire 
population of Massachusetts, and steadily and rapidly increasing 
in the number of its buildings and inhabitants. 

Although much of the natural beauty of the region has been 
destroyed by man, and some of the fairest portions are scarred by 
ugly building, examples of the most depressing mercantile and 
domestic architecture, it yet remains, if not as Captain John Smith 
described it before the advent of the European settler, "the 
paradise of all these parts," the most charming region surround- 
ing any modern city. While, happily, the most beautiful sections 
of the boundary rock-hills, rich wooded parts, and stretches of the 
river banks and seashores, are now reserved as public open spaces, 
and broad " boulevards " are cut through connecting municipal- 
ities, touching metropolitan and local park systems, every city 
and town of the district has in itself much of picturesqueness 
and interest. Beautiful rides in every direction abound, and no 
loveUer or more varied walks are anywhere to be fovind. Much 
that is old is mingled with the new, country roads touch modern 
thoroughfares, and rural by-ways lead from the beaten paths 
directly to rural parts. Within the limits of the metropolis 
itself mayflowers (the trailing arbutus) are to be gathered in 
their season, and rich flora is to be found. 

To enable the dwellers in and around Boston, as well as the 
visitor from distant parts, "to learn this whole region by heart," 
is the object of this little book. And in order that it may be 
learned in the most enjoyable as well as most healthful fashion, we 
have arranged a series of walks covering every portion of the dis- 
trict, and in one direction extending beyond it in order to take in 
historic Lexington and Concord. Adopting Dr. Holmes's happy 
conceit — now classic — of " Boston State House "as " the hub of 
the solar system," we have treated the surrounding parts as its 
spokes, and in that manner our explorations proceed. We shall 
visit every historic spot, landmark, and monument, and familiarize 
ourselves also with the history of this entire region. 



m 




\ 



Fold-ou 

PlacehoU 



This foid-out is being digitized, and \ 

future date. 



RO 
^ itsif" 

Wmtnropng , Beachmont, and Revere Beacli. 

Boston to Wint' '^^^iirop Centre, by steam car (Boston, Revere Beach, and 
lij-nn) 4.7 miles ; /ge >by boat to the pier at the foot of Perkins Street, 5 miles. 
f-AXQ, by either ^ vvay, 15 cents. 

j Boston *^" 4,0 Crescent Beach, by steam car (Boston, Revere Beach, and Lynn), 
■»5 ra'^ .les ; fare, 15 cents. By electric car (Boston and Lynn, from ScoUay 

square), 6 miles ; fare, 5 cents. To Beachmont, steam car, 5 miles ; fare, 12 

"lents. 

Walk a [No. 1]. Ai'ound and about Winthrop. 

Walk b [No. 2]. Over Beachmont, Crescent Beach, and along the length 
of Revere Beach to the Point of Pines and Saugus River. Return by way of 
, the beach branch of the Boston and Lynn electric railway. 

Winthrop was the ancient Pullen Poynt, or Pulling Point, of early Boston. 

In 1739 it was set off with Rumney Marsh and Winnisimmet to form the 
town of Chelsea, and remained a part of Chelsea till 1846, when it was taken 
with Rumney Marsh for the town of North Chelsea (now Revere). It was 
made a separate town in 1852. Its name was adopted in honor of Deane 
Winthrop, sixth son of Governor John Winthrop, who lived here many years 
and here died in 1703-4. It was called Pullen Poynt by the first settlers, 
"because the boats are by the seasing or roads haled against the tide which 
is very strong." [JosseljTi.] In 1753 it was rechristened Point Shirley, in 
honor of Governor Shirley, by a party of local speculators, — a syndicate we 
would say in these days, — who that year established a codfishery station 
here and " inaugurated " their enterprise with a joyous junket, at which the 
governor and other Boston worthies were guests. On the sail down and 
' iack the party were saluted with a discharge of guns from " The Castle " on 
Jastle Island ; the governor was received at the Point " with all the demon- 
strations of joy that so new a settlement was capable of." [Boston News 
Letter, Sept. 13, 1753.] There was an "elegant entertainment," much 
buoyant speech-making, and the formal re-naming of the place with his 
excellency's hearty approbation. But the enterprise was a dismal failure. 
Instead of first erecting the workshops and dwellings for their workmen, 
"they put up houses for their own pleasure accommodation, and a meeting- 
house for a preacher on Sundays, wholly neglectful of the operatives who 
were to have carried on the business for them." [Shurtleff.] So the place 
became a genteel summer resort, some of the "best families of Boston," 
among them the Hancocks, having their country seats on or near the Point, 
which still bears the name of Shirley. In more modern days it was made 
famous by Taft's Point Shirley House, an inn widely renowned for its rich 
larder and incomparable fish and game dinners ; a favorite resort for gour- 
mets, between 1850-85. Winthrop remained a rural town by the sea, with 
a few comfortable mansion-houses, scattered farmhouses and modest cot- 
tages, till 1875, when, with the opening of the narrow-gauge railroad, it 
quickly developed into a miniature watering-place, and colonies of " villas" 
sprang up like mushrooms in a night. Within its limits of less than a thou- 
sand acres are now thickly settled villages, w4th a loop railroad from the main 
stem, running frequent trains touching each one of them. It has eight miles 
of beach. 

Revere Beach, originally within the limits of Chelsea, and then known as 
Chelsea Beach, was given its present name when the town of North Chelsea 
became Revere in 1871. It extends from the bluff called Beachmont, in 
Revere, adjoining Winthrop, to the Point of Pines by the Saugus River, a 
distance of about three miles. 

Walk a. To " do " Winthrop and Revere Beach in the quickest 
and most complete fashion, the narrow-gauge railway trip, rather 
than that by the steamer to the harbor side of Great Head, should 



8 WINTHROP, BEACHUONT, Rt,^.^^^ ^^^^„ 

be chosen. Of course the former alone is avai ., , , . ,, n 
of November in each year, but during the sumni 1^ . f 

fort, eoohiess, and tlie most picturesque first vie\, ®^ "^ w IV ^°^ 
desired, the trip by one of the cosy little steamers ''' , Wmthrop b 
"voyage" from Atlantic Avenue through the na. , 

channel east of Fort Winthrop and Apple Island, up tuTJ'T " 
of Crystal Bay, at the very foot of Great Head, should have\!!*^f 
preference. By the last named route, one gets charming glimpse 
of the shore aU the way along, from the elevators, docks, anc 
shipyards of East Boston, the lofty bluff on Breed's Island, no^^ 
caUed "Orient Heights," and the lush meadows and sluggish' tide- 
way of Belle Isle Inlet, to the very tip of the peninsula. Point 
Shirley, which is left on the right as the steamer rounds up into 
the bay, after having successively passed in review Court, Cottage, 
Bartlett, and Woodside parks, the aUuring shades of Sunnyside 
and the handsome dwellings of Washington Avenue. The railway 
will take us by its loop line into and around the heart of the town, 
or along the beach, according as we take the train via the '^Cen- 
tre " or that via the " Highlands." 

^ The railway proper starts from East Boston, with which connec- 
tion is made from the Atlantic Avenue Station by ferry, crosses 
the marshes and flats on the easterly edge of the island, passing 
Wood Island Park (of the Boston system of public parks) on the 
harbor front, continues well out to the harbor line to Orient 
Heights (formerly called Winthrop Junction), thence across Breed's 
Island, leaving the heights from which the station takes its name, 
(the former Breed's Hill) on the left, and along the base of the 
uplands of Beachmont in Revere, to the crest of Revere Beach, 
which it follows to the end. The Winthrop loop line branches off 
at the junction station, and in its circuit of 5.3 miles makes ten 
stops, the stations being only about one-half mile apart. 

If we go down by cars and leave the train at Battery station 
on the loop line, we may first do the most modern and the most 
ancient features of Winthrop, — the Winthrop Battery, con- 
structed by the National government, and the Deane Winthrop 
house, dating from the seventeenth century. The fortification is a 
part of the elaborate and costly system of minor harbor and city 
defences now building, and is to be operated in connection with 
works on Grover's Cliflf, the bold headland a mile* or so to the 
north projecting into the bay. In outward appearance it is a steep \ 
grassy slope rising to the height of forty feet and fashioned with 
such precision that it cannot be mistaken for a work of nature. I 
But it has little the look of a fortification as approached from the 
roadway, and no idea of the magnitude of the work can be gained , 



WINTHROP, BEACHMONT, REVERE BEACH. 9 

from the outside. It is a masked battery of powerful armament 
commanding the entrance to Boston Bay. The work under con- 
struction on Grover's Cliff is a strong battery of three monster 
long-range guns. 

The Winthrop Battery has four nests of batteries in long, broad pits, each 
nest containing four twelve-inch breech-loading mortars, sixteen in all, each 
one able with a full charge of eighty pounds of powder to drop a shell 
weighing six hundred pounds upon a ship's deck six miles away. These 
mortars average about fourteen tons each, and are mounted on carriages 
resting on fifteen-ton roller-paths havmg teeth which represent the fuU circle 
of 3G0°. They are turned by a vertical spindle working in the rack inside. 
The recoil is taken by two cylinders in each " cheek " of the carriage, one of 
which contains twelve springs and is ten feet long, the other, five feet in 
length, is partly filled with oil which escapes through small openings as the 
piston takes up the slack given down the springs. The lowest elevation for 
firing purposes is 40^ and the highest 80^, with 45^ as the maximum range. 




Winthrop Battery. 



In time of action the battery is worked by charts, upon which the entrance 
to the harbor is divided into squares, under the direction of the commanding 
ofiicer standing at Grover's Cliff, from which the situation and movement of 
a liostile ship or fleet are telegraphed, telephoned, or flagged, and the guns 
trained accordingly. The interior works embrace magazines for loaded shells 
and for explosives to be loaded into shells, various store-rooms, quarters for 
the officers commanding the batteries, rooms for plotting the path and reach 
of the projectiles, and other apartments. 

The old "Winthrop homestead is on Shirley Street (the road to 
Point Shirley) just off from Revere Street (the highway to Revere), 
but a stone's throw from the Batterj", which faces Revere Street. 
The age of the structure is its chief attraction. We see a very 
plain, two-story, pitch-roofed dwelling, in outline a tyi^e of the 
conventional early New England farm-house. Its front has been 
modernized by the substitution of clapboards for the shingles that 
once covered it, and the insertion of large-paned windows, but the 
back retains much of the ancient look. Originally it was without 
the leanto, and contained four large square rooms, with a spacious 



10 WINTlIROr, BEACHMONT, REVERE BEACH. 

attic. Just how old tliis lioiise is is not cletiiiitely known. In the 
"Book of Possessions'' Deane Winthrop is recorded as owning- in 
1(345 one farm at Pnlleu Point embracing one hundred and twenty 
acres, and it is believed that he was at that time occupying it. 
According to iSewall's Diary he "lived there [at Pullen Point] in 
his father's day," but Sewall adds that "in his father's time his 
house stood more toward Deer Island.'' This, therefore, was the 
second Deane Winthrop homestead. In 1040 — the year of Gov- 
ernor Winthrop's death — he acqxiired the farm of Bridget and 
William Pierce, embracing one hundred acres, and from this cir- 
cumstance, perhaps, the authorities have generally fixed upt)n 
that year, or "before 1(350," as the date of the house. It bears 




The Deane Winthrop House. 



■-FT^' 



its years Avell. The strength of the frame appears more clearly 
on the inside than on the outside, in the heavy oak beams crossing 
the ceiling. It was in 1(590 that bewail was a guest at the house, 
and wrote about it in the Diary. He went down to the Point with 
Mr. Willard (then minister of the Old South Church in Boston), evi- 
dently to a wedding party in the old farndiouse. " Between 1 and 
2," he writes, " Mr. Willard married Atherton Hough and Mercy 
Winthrop. . . . Between 3 and 4 Major General Nathaniel ITiggin- 
son and Mr. Adam Winthrop came and many with them, when 
we had almost dined. Sang a Psalm together." At this time 
Deane Winthrop was seventy-seven years old. Of his death, four 
years later, on March 1(5, 170;>-04, Sewall makes this note : "Mr. 
Deane Winthrop, of Pullen Point, dies upon his birthday just 
about the Breaking of it. He was taken at eight o'clock the 



WINTHROP, BEACHMONT, REVERE BEACH. 11 

evening- before, as he sat in his chair . . . Hardly spoke anything 
after heinj? in Bed. Eifi:hty-one years ohl. He is tlie last of Gov- 
ernor Wintln'()i)'s cliildren. Statione novissimus exit.'''' He was 
buried on the 2()th " by his son and three dauf^hters . . . from tlie 
house of Hasey." There were "Scutcheons on the Pall." Sewall 
was one of the bearers, and " helped to lower the Corpse. Madam 
Pai^e went to her Coach. Majr. Genl. and Cai)t. Adam Winthroi) 
had Scarvs and led the Widow. Very pleasant day." 

Deane Winthrop was a son of the governor's third wife, and was born in 
England in 1G23. He was brought to Boston in 1035, then a lad of twelve. 
When a young man he went to the settlement wliicli became Groton in 1()55, 
named after the old P3nglisli home of the Winthrops, and is called the founder 
of that town. His life of forty or more years at " Pulling Point " seems to 
have been very quiet and prosaic. He was one of the earliest of local " ship- 
news reporters," for Sewall records that when he was living toward Deer 
Island he " was wont to set up a Bush when he saw a ship coming in." 

The old house remained in the possession of Winthrop's de- 
scendants until after tlu; opening- of the present century : then it 
passed to the Floyd family which has since held it. The present 
owner, Henry Otis Floyd, has lived here for many years. 

It is a short walk from the Deane Winthrop house, by way of 
Revere Street and across the bridge over the railroad by Highland 






'••" -c-s^^^ 



:^?^ 






"-i Jl^rSiS??-*?;^' 




Winthrop Highlands. 



station to the high bluff of which Grover's Cliff is the eastern 
terminus, and which is appropriately named "Winthrop High- 
lands. This is the extreme northerly end of the town, and 
ascending the steep slope we are rewarded by one of the best of 
the views from Wiuthro]) bluff-tops — picturesque Nahant at the 
north-east ; following round to the north and west, the city of 
Lynn, Maiden, Melrose, and the Fells beyond, the near-by Revere 



12 WINTER OP, BEACHMONT, REVERE BEACH. 

and Chelsea ; at the extreme west, Boston and its outljdng dis- 
tricts ; at the south the harbor, and at the east the ocean. 

Back to Highland station, it might be "well to take the train, 
and ride to Ocean Spray station, from which short streets lead 
directly to Winthrop Beach. Here on the crest o£ the beach is 
a broad driveway extending from Grover's Cliff to Great Head, 
thickly lined with summer cottages facing the sea. It is a beauti- 
ful beach, and the crest drive is the favorite one of Winthrop 
folk. On pleasant summer afternoons, especially on Sundays, it 
is gay with pleasure-teams. The road is well made and well kept, 
and is protected from the encroachments of the sea by substantial 
breakwaters. After a summer storm, when a glorious surf pounds 
the beach, this drive is at its best. The Massachusetts Legisla- 
ture, session of 189G, embodied in the appropriation for the Met- 
ropolitan Parks system a considerable sum for the construction of 
a sixty-foot boulevard along this crest drive, which is to be accom- 
plished partly by taking land from in front of the houses and 
partly by building a sea-wall outside the present "bulkheads " 
and filling out to it. Preliminary surveys have been made and 
tentative lines established, and it is probable that the autumn of 
1896 wUl see a beginniiig, at least, made upon the work itself. 
Its comjiletion is expected to add much to the attractiveness of 
the drive, and incidentally to the value of property fronting on 
the Crest. 

Great Head looms up majestically at the south end of the 
Crest, overlooking the long sandy spit which curves away slightly 
to the westward of south and is known as "Short Beach." This 
terminates in the bold hillock and flat, sandy plain at its base, 
famous in history and local annals as Point Shirley. Upon the 
sides and summit of Great Head are some of the more ambitious 
of Winthrop summer residences. At the western foot of the 
bluff, on Crystal Bay, are the house and pier of the Winthrop 
Yacht Club, off which are moored many dainty yachts during the 
summer months. A broad road passes over the hill; and the 
houses along this way, and clinging to the rugged hill-sloi)es, com- 
mand far-spreading water views. By the local authorities the 
bluff has been renamed "Cottage Hill," but it is gratifying to 
observe that most of the residents ignore this absolutely charac- 
terless appellation and cling to the picturesque and most fitting 
name which the first settlers gave it. Over on Point Shirley 
there is now little of interest save perhaps a single old mansion- 
house, which is pointed out as the John Hancock shore place, set 
up perhaps about 1773, during the period when the Point flourished 
as a genteel summer resort. At that time the remainder of the 



WINTER OP, BEACHMONT, REVERE BEACH. 13 

peninsula was mostly covered with forests broken by a few scat- 
tered farms. Taft's Point Shirley House [see historical note at 
the head of this chapter, p. 7] which in later times gave the point 
its widest fame, stood close to the swift waters of Shirley Gut. 
The faded suggestion of a long past gayety, together with the 
present desolation and remoteness of Point Shirley, give one a 
sense of picturesque loneliness not free from uncanny suggestions. 
From Great Head we shall find it a pleasant walk by Shirley 
Street northward to Washington Avenue, which soon opens at the 
left, thence to Pleasant Street near Thornton station, and by 
Pleasant Street along the south and west sides of the town. 
The town bridge by which Washington Avenue crosses Crystal 
Bay was during 1895 widened and filled solid (except a tide sluice- 
way) thus making it a causeway which confines the waters of the 




Shirley Gut. 

upper end of the bay and transforms this into a water park. 
Along the western or "town" shore is also a pleasant new ave- 
nue shaded with fine trees and lined with comfortable permanent 
dwellings. Continuing our walk, we shall keep close to or within 
sight of the water most of the way, and pass through or near a 
number of the many districts, or "resorts," into which the little 
town is now divided. Very few of the old farm and mansion 
houses which constituted the Winthrop invaded by the railroad in 
the seventies now remain, but the names of some of the older 
estates are perpetuated in the resorts built upon or near them. 
Thus we have " Thornton's " for the late J. Wiugate Thornton, 
the genealogist and historical writer, whose comfortable old house 
still stands, though shorn of its generous grounds ; " Bartlett 
Park " for the Charles L. Bartlett estate, in its day one of the 
largest and stateliest on the peninsula, now cut uj) by " avenues " 
— partly parcelled out into lots for "colonial villas" and partly 



14 WINTHROP, BEACHMONT, REVERE BEACH. 

incorporated with the adjoining Cottage Park property — and the 
fine old mansion-house which was the birthplace and later the 
home of the gallant General William F. Bartlett, transmuted into 
a huge, showy and flamboyant summer hotel ; " Court Park " for 
Judge John Lowell, and George B. Loring, whose estates were on 
the high grounds on the southwest corner of the place, with a 
fair outlook over the water ; and *' Ingall's " for Dr. Samuel In- 
galls, who was one of the pioneers in the development of Winthrop 
into a modern summer place, and one of the most earnest pro- 
moters of the extension of the narrow-gauge system over it. The 
latter lost his life by the railroad soon after the little old saddle- 
back locomotive began to draw the trains of toy cars originally 
run upon the Winthrop branch. 

"Winthrop Centre, where the town hall, the main school-house, 
the post office, churches, and the Masonic Hall are clustered, is at 
the right of Pleasant Street, not far beyond Thornton's. Sunny 
Side is near the Bartlett estate, with a pretty still-water beach. 
It was for a number of years the summer home of the famous 
Vokes family, and of other colonies of actors who have occasion- 
ally settled on this side of the town. The harbor view from this 
point, with its diminutive Snake Island in the near foreground, 
and Apple Island just beyond, is extremely pleasing. 

At its northern end Pleasant Street crosses Main Street, close to 
the bridge over Belle Isle Inlet, the dividing Ime between Breed's 
Island (Orient Heights) within the jurisdiction of Boston, and 
Winthrop, and ends at the Pleasant Street station of the railway, 
the first and last stop on the circuit line. On the East Boston 
side of the bridge, this country road becomes Saratoga Street, and 
as such extends to Central Square, in the heart of "the Island 
Ward," as East Boston is often called. 

Having now made the circuit of the town we may take the 
train at Pleasant Street station, and returning to Orient Heights, 
thence make the short trip to Revere Beach, for our Walk b. It 
would be better, however, to defer this walk to another day, for it 
is four or five miles in length, and we have thus far covered as 
many miles on foot. Instead of journeying homeward by rail, we 
may, if %ve prefer, ride around from Pleasant Street station to 
Winthrop Beach station, and thence return by the steamboat, 
which lands at a new, handsome and commodious wharf right 
alongside. 

Walk b. Beginning at Beachmont, the second station beyond 
Orient Heights, on the main line of the Boston, Revere Beach, 
and Lynn Railroad, twenty minutes ride from Atlantic Avenue. 
At the Beachmont station we come upon a symmetrical drumlin 



WINTHROP, BEACHMONT, REVERE BEACH. 15 

rising forty or fifty feet, and affording fine water views. These 
views would be finer and fuller were the houses which tliickly 
cover the bluff set with better skill and taste ; but neither skill 
nor taste, probably, entered into the scheme of the development 
of this popular seaside dwelling-place, which was begun about the 
mid seventies by laud speculators aided and abetted by brass band 
and auctioneer, who auctioned off the territory in small lots with 
little or no restrictions upon builders. However, here and there 
between the houses some exquisite glimijses of the ocean are 
caught, and occasionally, through an opening, broad sweeps of 
the beach below, with the rocky outline of Nahant across Broad 
Sound, delight the eye. * 

Leaving the station at the foot of the hill our way lies along 
Atlantic Avenue, opposite the station, into Bellingham Street, just 
above, which opens at the right and curves around the Avest side 
up toward the summit. Following Bellingham Street to its end, 
then rounding the little park, and taking Bradstreet Street, at the 
right, which curves along the other side of the hill, we encircle 
the height, coming out near the station at the point at which we 
started. The walk is not a long one, — it is accomplished in an 
easy stroll of less than a half hour, — and it gives us all of the best 
of Beachmont and its views. The broadest views are had in the 
first half of the walk as we mount Bellingham Street, and at its 
end, from which Winthrop Point shows up pleasingly. Between 
the houses on the outer side of Bradstreet Street the eye courses 
toward the south over broad marshes to Winthrop Highlands and 
Orient Heights. 

The lower road, Atlantic Avenue, follows the base of the hill 
to Ocean Pier at the tip of Crescent Beacli, which makes out 
from Beachmont, and is in fact the southern finish of Revere 
Beach. Winthrop Avenue, by the station, is the highway between 
Winthrop and Revere, and the electric car line from Beachmont, 
through Revere and Chelsea, to Boston, passes over it. 

We can walk over from Beachmont, to the oi^ening of Kevere 
Beacli, but the road is not as yet an attractive one, and we shall 
find the ears pleasanter. Crescent Beach station, the first on the 
beach, is next beyond Beachmont, a ride of a few minvites. Here 
the raihoad originally took the crest of the beach, and in course 
of time was closely pressed by a hodge-podge of buildings, follow- 
ing the track its full length of three miles ; but now the rails are 
back of the sands, and crest and beach, cleared of all unsightly 
obstructions, are being transformed, by the Metropolitan Park 
Commissioners, into a public ocean park, with pronaenade and 
pleasTire-driveway. Already something of this work has been 



16 WINTHROP, BEACHMONT, REVERE BEACH. 

accomplished iu the completion of the esplanade near the Crescent 
Beach station. 

It was a qneer colony which here flourished during the twenty 
years of the occupation of the crest by the railroad line. Up to 
the close of the season of 189G it was a place of low-hrowed, cheap, 
unlovely structures, in a crowded row on either side of the tracks, 
with narrow promenade, protected from them by wire fences. It 
was picturesque, if shabby, and, packed with its unconventional 
summer population, not uninteresting to the social philosopher. 
These structures were summer boarding-houses, "hotels" and 
shops for trade and barter, seaside refreshments, bathing-shanties 
of various sizes and grades, and photographic "saloons." Prices 
ruled at the lowest, and all its ways were democratic. " Full fish 
dinners " were to be had for fifty cents, and for a dollar one might 
revel in a banquet of chowder, fish, fried lobster, sliced cucum- 
bers, ice cream, cake and other fixings. The fee for bathing- 
suits for " ladies and gents " was temptingly low, and some houses 
offered extra large suits for stout people without extra charge. 

The beach "village" extended nearly a mile northward from 
Crescent Beach station, pretty effectually shutting the beach from 
view. But from that point onward the beachside was clear of it, 
and the beautiful shore with its sea outlook could, as now, be 
enjoyed at its fullest. Taking position below the crest, at a point 
about opposite the opening of Revere Street, and looking back, 
then beyond, we obtain an unbroken view of the magnificent 
curve of the strand from its southern boundary of Beachmont to 
the northern terminus at the Point of Pines, — one of the most 
graceful stretches of ocean beach on the Atlantic coast. 

From the Revere Street opening we have the shore highway 
running alongside of the shore railway ; and 'at the left of the 
highway are the freight tracks of the Maine Railroad, with broad 
expanse of inarsh beyond, over which are views of the lovely 
highlands in the distance. Oak Island, with its mass of trees, 
in the foreground, is a favorite resort for botanists. On the high- 
wayside is the electric car line from Crescent Beach to the Point 
of Pines ; and at Revere Street the branch of the Boston and Lynn 
electric ear line enters^' We avoid, of course, the highway, and 
keep to the beach. The Point of Pines at the northerly end is so 
called from the grove of rugged trees here, which in old times was 
a favorite family picnic place. For many years a pleasant hotel, 
with broad piazzas facing the sea, occupied the Point and was a 
rather choice resort, much patronized for its excellent shore din- 
ners, by pleasure-parties taking the beach drive. At length the 
pleasant hotel fell upon unprosperous days, and finally gave way 



WINTHROP, BEACH^fONT, REVERE BEACH. 17 

to the more popular resort which developed into a many-featured 
summer shoAV place. The beach curves toward the Point, and 
the highway, crossing the railway, brings up abruptly to the gates 
of the grounds, through which there is no thoroughfare. At the 
right, however, a way opens to the beach, so that at low tide 
carriages may turn onto it. The forbidding sign "Danger! No 
persons allowed on the Mai-sh," conspicuously placed on the fence 
of the enclosure, here confronts us, but regardless of it we fol- 
low the beach beloAv the grounds and so reach the marsh, or the 
Saugus River shore, beyond, unmolested, for this is now within 
the public reservation. It is contemplated to build a bridge from 
this point to Lynn, bringing the reservation into direct connection 
with that city and the country adjacent. 

If it is desired here to end the walk and return to Boston by 
the narrow-gauge railway, the Point of Pines private grounds 
must be entered, and passed through to the station. But by fin- 
ishing at this point much will be missed, notably the beach and 
ocean views in the southerly direction. So we retrace our steps, 
strolling back over the sands to Revere Street, and there take the 
electric car, which carries us through the town of Revere, Chelsea, 
and the Charlestown District to Scollay Square, for a five cent 
fare. The way starts through pleasant parts and passes by the 
most picturesque of the Revere hills. 



East Boston and Chelsea. 

City proper to East Boston, by North Ferry, foot of Battery Street, or 
South Ferry, Eastern Avenue ; fare, 1 cent ; by Boston, Revere Beach, and 
Lynn Railroad ferry, Atlantic Avenue, fare, 3 cents. 

Boston to Chelsea, by ferry, foot of Hanover Street, fare, 3 cents; by 
electric car, from Scollay Square, by way of Charlestown or East Boston ; 
fare, 5 cents. By steam car, Boston and Maine Railroad, W. Div., 5 miles, 
fare, 10 cents. 

Walk a [No. 3]. Round about Boston North End to the South Ferry. 
Along the harbor side of East Boston, over Camp Hill ; by the long foot- 
bridge to Wood Island Park approaches ; about the park ; along the Parkway 
toward Eagle Hill ; over to Winthrop Junction and Breed's Island ; by Belle 
Isle to Beachmont. 

Walk b [No. 4]. [From Beachmont to Chelsea by electric car ; or from 
Boston to Chelsea by electric car, or steam car B. & M., W. Div.] Over 
Powderhorn Hill and Mount Washington ; back along Washington Avenue ; 
about the Naval Hospital grounds and the site of Samuel Maverick's first 
house where Wintlu-op was entertained upon his coming in 1630 ; across to 
the ferry to Boston. 

East Boston was first called by the colonists Noddle's Island, from one 
William Noddle, an "honest man of Salem," according to Wiuthrop's " Jour- 
nal," settled here about 1629. He may have been one of the colonists sent out 
by Sir William Brereton, who obtained a grant of this and its neighbor, Breed's 
Island, from John Gorges, in 1628, but failed to secure a confirmation of his 
claim. In early papers it is sometimes referred to as Brereton's Island ; and 
efforts were made to fix the name of Brereton's daughter Susanna to the 
other island. But the latter came instead to be called "Hog Island," which 
homely appellation clung to it for some time after it was officially known 
as Breed's Island, from the Breed family which occupied it as a farm from 
about 1800 to 1870. One of the earlier owners was Judge Samuel Sewall, who 
in 1687 took possession of it by the ancient formality of "turf and twig." 
Noddle's Island was granted to Samuel Maverick, gent., in April, 1633, who, 
erecting a fortified house, occupied it for about twenty-five years, dispensing 
a generous hospitality to his Puritan neighbors, though himself a Church of 
England man, and not always at peace with them. From him the island was 
for a long period called Maverick's. In 1637 it was " layd to Boston," but it 
remained a rich island farm for two centuries. It became East Boston in 
1833, when it was bought by a local land company, —the East Boston Com- 
pany, —and its upbuilding begun. It was the scene of the "Fight on Nod- 
dle's Island," one of the early skirmishes of the Revolution. In the days 
of wooden ships it was a place of great ship-yards, and between 1848-58 more 
than 170 vessels were built here, 99 exceeding 1000 tons each, and 9 above 
2000 tons each. Among them were famous clipper-ships for the California 
service, and the " Great Republic," the largest wooden sailing-ship ever 
built, a three-decker, with four masts, of 4556 tons. East Boston is con- 
nected with Chelsea by two bridges across Chelsea Creek. 

Chelsea, inchiding Revere and Winthrop (severally called by the colonists 
Winnisimmet, Rumney Marsh, and Pulling Point) was made a part of Boston 
in 1634, by order of the General Court, that " Wynetsem' shall belonge to 
Boston." These precincts, in 1739, were set off from Boston as the town of 
Chelsea. In 1846 the present towns of Revere and Winthrop were set off 
from Chelsea as North Chelsea, Winthrop was set off from North Chelsea in 
1852, and in 1871 North Chelsea became Revere. Chelsea became a city in 
1857. Until 1835, beside the present United States Naval and Marine Hos- 
pital grounds, it consisted of four great farms, with their farm-houses, and a 
few others beside those connected with the ferry or the hospital. Winnisim- 
met was occupied by settlers before the coming of the Puritans, but who 
the earliest settlers were is not now known, with the single exception of 



EAST BOSTON AND CHELSEA. 19 

Samuel Maverick, afterward of East Boston. Maverick had a fortified house 
which stood on the present Naval Hospital grounds, and was the first per- 
manent house in the Massaclmsetts Bay Colony. In 1634 Maverick and one 
John Blackleach, then owners of Winuisimmet, sold the whole of it (except 
that part now owned by the United States, and occupied by the hospitals) to 
Richard Bellinghaiu, afterward deputy governor and later governor of the 
colony. In 1638 allotments for farms were made in the Rumney Marsh, part 
to a number of tlie Massachusetts Company, among them Sir Harry Vane, 
who had not then arrived in the country. Governor Winthrop, William Hutcli- 
inson, Edmund Quincy, and Captain Robert Keayne, the latter in his day the 
wealthiest of the Pilgrim colonists, first commander of the first military com- 
pany, of which the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company was an out- 
growth, the father of the first town-house in Boston, and the maker of "the 
longest will ever filed in Massachusetts." The ferry between Boston and 
Chelsea, touching at Charlestown, set up in 1631, was the first ferry in New 
England. The development of Chelsea from a place of farms to a fiourishiug 
town was, like that of East Boston, the enterprise of a land company, known 
as the Winuisimmet Company. 

Walk a. We take the ferry to East Boston at the North End. 
The street-car passing through Hanover Street will carry us direct 
to the North Feriy, which is the further north, and within a few 
blocks of the South Ferry. It will be more agreeable, however, 
to walk, for thus we may see more of the historic North End. 
Although many of the once numerous landmarks of early Boston, 
■which held their places here long after the rest of the old town 
had been repeatedly made over, are now gone, there remains 
enough to make this jiart still unique. We will not attempt its 
thorough exploration, but simply touch here and there its most 
interesting features in a rovmdabout way to the Ferry. 

Let our start be at the Old State House, at the head of State 
Street. Crossing to the left side the site of the " Boston Massa- 
cre" of 1770 (which the city has attempted to mark by the circle 
of oddly set stones in the paving near the corner of Exchange 
Place), we take Change Alley, the narrow foot-way opening be- 
tween buildings next below Exchange Place, and reach Faneuil 
Hall. Change Alley used to be a place of quaint shops and oddi- 
ties, after the fashion of queer London by-ways, but of late years 
it has been modernized and its picturesqueness destroyed. Near 
the end a side " avenue " once opened to Corn Court, in which 
still stands the battered shell of the old Hancock Tavern, for- 
merly the Brasier Inn, at which Talleyrand and Louis Philippe 
stopped a short time while in Boston in 1795. This is quite near 
the site of the first tavern in Boston, — Samuel Cole's " ordinaire," 
opened in 1634. There is yet a narrow passage-way here, but it is 
a noisome place, and the better entrance to the court is around 
from Faneuil Hall Square. At the left of Faneuil Hall Square, 
entering from Change Alley, in the low wooden structure on the 
south corner of old Dock Square, is the remnant of the Sun 
Tavern, the oldest piece of seventeenth century inn now standing in 



20 



EAST BOSTON AND CHELSEA. 



town. Faneuil Hall is open to the public evei'y day but Saturday. 
From the north side of Faneuil Hall, rounding old Dock Square, 
we pass across to Union Street, and thence make Marshall's 
Lane (or Street, as the sign will have it), a short cut, at the right, 
into Hanover Street. In the ancient little yellow brick house on 
the corner, was once the fashionable dry-goods shop of Hopestill 
Capen, in which Benjamin Thompson, afterward Count Rumford 
(whose birthplace we shall see in Woburn) served an apprentice- 
ship as clerk, beginning when a lad of sixteen. Within Marshall's 




View of the Boston Stone. 



Lane we come upon the "Boston Stone, 1737," set in the wall 
of a building close to the walk, which was brought from Eng- 
land about 1700, and originally used as a paint-mill by a painter 
who had a shop here. The block of dilapidated buildings in 
Creek Lane, at the right, was built by John Hancock shortly 
after the peace. The larger house marking the corner was the 
dwelling and office of Ebenezer Hancock, brother of the governor, 
and deputy paymaster-general of the Continental Army during 



EAST BOSTON AND CHELSEA. 21 

the war, and, says Drake, its " lower floor has groaned beneath 
the weight of the French crowns sent us by his Most Chris- 
tian Majesty, our excellent ally, brought over by the fleet of 
D'Estaing." In the front of the building on the Hanover Street 
corner is preserved the coat of arms carved in wood, bearing date 
of 1701, which the painter who brought the Boston stone set up 
in front of his shop, giving that the name of the " Painter's 
Arms." This is presumed to represent the painter's guild of 
London. Crossing Hanover Street we next take Salem Street, 
and following that unsavory way through a cosmopolitan quarter, 
we shortly reach Christ Church, where the tablet says the lan- 
terns of Paul Revere were displayed on the evening before the 
Lexington-Concord affair, but others say not ; and the historic old 
Copp's Hill Burying Ground hard by. Li passing we note in 
neighboring streets a few examples of colonial building, but the 
best of this pattern have disappeared within the past few years. 
By side streets making our way to North Square, now the heart 
of the Italian quarter of Boston, we pass, by the southern exit, 
what is left of the house in which Paul Revere lived at the out- 
break of the Revolution. Bearing now toward the water front, by 
way of North and Fleet Streets, we reach our ferry, — the South 
Ferry at the end of Eastern Avenue, opening from Atlantic Avenue. 

On the East Boston side we land at Lewis Street, which leads 
directly into Maverick Square, one of the business centres of the 
island, the other being Central Square, further on. Our route lies 
along the harbor side, which is the historic part, as well as one of 
the pleasantest. Before the laying out of the island into streets 
and house-lots by the East Boston Company in the thirties, there 
were sightly hills here, interspersed with broad meadow and 
marshes, known respectively as Smith Hill, Camj) Hill, and Eagle 
Hill, or Upper Farms. Smith Hill lay nearest to the present 
South Ferry landing. Camp Hill was beyond, jutting into the 
harbor, and the Upper Farms at the north, toward Chelsea. On 
the slope of Smith Hill, before the Revolution, was the mansion- 
house of the tenant farmer, and on Camp Hill it is supposed 
Maverick's fort and house stood when the island was granted to 
him by the Puritan Court of Assistants, in 1633. 

Turning from Lewis Street into Marginal Street, we follow 
first the wharf lines. Crossing the railroad track we come to 
Clyde Street — well named — leading down to the Cunard wharf, 
which is a bustling place on steamer daj'^s. A short tramp beyond 
brings us to Cottage Street, at the left, the corner of which is 
marked by the attractively designed building of St. Mary's Home 
for Sailors, attached to the Episcopal City Mission. Proceeding 



22 EAST BOSTON AND CIJELSEA. 

now lip Cottage Street we take the right turn into Webster Street, 
and so approach what was once the stateliest part of the island. 
The upper corner of Cottage and Webster Streets is the site of 
the first house built after the plotting of the island. The earlier 
mansion-house of the tenant farmer and the farm buildings stood 
a short walk in the opposite direction — near the corner of Sumner 
(the next beyond Webster Street) and Lewis Streets, toward Mav- 
erick Square. While the Williams family were the tenants for 
seventy years up to the purchase of the island by the land com- 
pany, it was a great place of resort by Boston worthies as guests 
of the family. 

Prior and up to the Revolution, " Mr. Williams vied with his predecessor, 
Maverick, in his hospitality ; his house was large, elegant and richly fur- 
nished for those times, his table was sumptuous, and his cellar well-stocked ; 
a hearty welcome was given to all. Judging from the daily accounts of the 
family, the boats were continually plying between Boston and the island, 
carrying to and fro throngs of visitors. ... As visitors entered the hall 
they saw the walls ornamented with twenty-four pictures in gilt frames ; a 
dozen black walimt chairs offered comfortable seats, two tea tables with a 
set of China upon each, and two mahogany dining tables, a mahogany tea- 
chest, and wine glasses, gave significant evidence of the good cheer within. 
Six daughters added no small attraction to the mansion ; a piano-forte, a 
rare instrument in this country at that time, stood in the parlor, and the 
young ladies entertained their friends with music and songs, and were not 
dependent upon the city for the pleasure of a social dance. Generals Put- 
nam, Knox and Lincoln visited there ; Judge William Tudor, also, who is 
called by one of the family ' Papa's particular friend ' ; the clergymen of 
Boston sat at his table ; and, if the expression could with propriety be used, 
the nobility of the vicinity frequented the hospitable mansion." [Sumner's 
East Boston.'] After the "Fight on Noddle's Island" in 1775, the fine 
mansion-house with other buildings was burned, and later, Washington gave 
Mr. Williams a building used as barracks by the troops at Cambridge, which 
was removed to the island and reconstructed over the ruins of the old ; this 
was occupied as the family mansion until the tenancy was relinquished and 
Noddle's Island became East Boston. It was removed in 1835. 

Continuing up pleasant, tree-lined Webster Street, we shortly 
come upon fair old houses. The first that arrests attention is 
the low, out-spreading wooden dwelling, on the right side, with 
pillared jnazza entirely surrounding it, and topped by a cupola. 
This was one of the earliest houses built in the development of 
East Boston, and in its prime was for many years the hospitable 
home of Albert Bowker, a public-spirited citizen of the island. 
A fcAV steps beyond, on the same side, the row of dignified brick 
houses set back from the street, with yards behind old-fashioned 
iron and granite fences, is a type of the Boston "swell-front," 
peculiar to the town for years, until, unhappily, it was driven 
out by the mixed domestic architecture which marks the Boston 
of to-day. Opposite, on the left side of the street, Belmont Square 
in part covers the site of the encampment of the British forces, 
previous to the expedition against Canada in 1711, which gave the 
name of Camp Hill to this elevation. 



EAST BOSTON AND CHELSEA. 23 

In 1776, after the evacuation of Boston, and when it was feared 
that the British warships, which for some time lay in the lower 
harbor, might make an attack, or that Howe's fleet would return, 
a fortress was built at this point for the protection of the town. 
The work was rapidly pushed, town and country folk uniting 
their efforts in it. " Both the clergy and laity volunteered their 
services," says Sumner, the historian of the island, "working 
with pickaxe and shovel and aiding until the work was finished, 
while the poorer classes were compensated for their labor." But 
no hostile move was made by the enemy, and the fortress, though 
fully equipped, was not brought into action. During the latter 
part of the War of 1812, when Boston was threatened, and the 
national government were neglecting coast defences, the place 
was again fortified. The works consisted of a main fort with 
a covered way to a water battery. The engineer was Loammi 
Baldwin, and the construction, like that of the fortress of 177G, 
was principally by volunteer labor of citizens of Boston and neigh- 
boring towns : detachments of local military companies, mercan- 
tile and mechanics' associations, and sometimes whole parishes 
headed by their pastors. One actor in the scene long afterward 
relates having seen the " venerable Dr. Lathrop, with the deacons 
and elders of his church, each shouldering his shovel, and doing 
yeoman's service in digging, shoveling, and carrying sods in hand- 
barrows." This fortress was named Fort Strong, from the gov- 
ernor, Caleb Strong, and its formal naming was the occasion of a 
dazzling military parade, of speeches, and much gun-firing. Like 
its predecessor, it was never used, and upon the close of the war 
it was dismantled and abandoned. 

It is possible that Maverick's Fortress, mounting "four 
murtherers," and inclosing his rude castle, was also set upon this 
height : and perhaps one or more of his immediate successors as 
owners or tenants of the island, — Sir Thomas Temple, sometime 
governor of Nova Scotia, afterward long a resident in Boston, 
whom Increase Mather called "as true a gentleman as ever set 
foot on American soil," Robert Temple, the latter's son, Sir John 
Temple, born on the island, who was the first consul-general of 
England to the United States after the peace in 1783, and Colonel 
Samuel Shrimpton, in his day one of the foremost and wealthiest 
of Bostonians, a judge of the superior court, member of the gov- 
ernor's council, and one of the leaders in the revolution against 
Andros in 1689, — had their dwellings or other buildings in this 
same locality. One of the finest of the earlier mansion-houses, 
however, that of Robert Temi^le, was at " ye farr end of ye 
farme," at the easterly point of Eagle Hill. 



24 EAST BOSTON AND CHELSEA. 

This house was built about the year 174G, and has been described as a large 
mansion with brick walls, and handsomely terraced, containing " elegant 
rooms, suitable for tlie reception of persons of the first condition." Maverick 
kept a immber of slaves on his estate ; and in the inventory of Colonel 
Shrimpton's estate "fourteen negroes, old and young, £350," were included 
with stock, houses and other property on Noddle's Island. The island con- 
tinued in tlie possession of the Shrimpton family and its connections for more 
than one hundred and sixty years, until its purchase by the East Boston 
Company. 

Over Belmont Square we have a pleasant bit of water view, and 
at the I'ight, through the cross streets and occasional openings be- 
tween houses or blocks, broader harbor views. From the narrow 
way of Ruth Street, at the right, a walk and series of stone steps 
lead down to Marginal Street, at the foot of the height, and the 
East Boston station of the Boston, Revere Beach & Lynn Rail- 
road, — near by which, across the street, we may observe on a 
modest little shop the historic name of John Hancock given to 
trading in old naetal and junk. 

Following AVebster Street to the open space a short distance 
below Belmont Square, we turn sharply to the left and enter 
Sumner Street, which we are to follow back to Cottage Street. 
The way forward from this open space leads to JefFries's Point, 
and the yacht club house on the water's edge. The walk back 
along Sumner Street is not so pleasant as that through Webster 
Street, but it offers variety, and is soon over. At the point where 
the tunnel of the narrow gauge railroad passes beneath the road- 
way, — just before we come again to Belmont Square, — there are 
little views of interest to the right and left, the bare side of 
Breed's Hill, topped with its yellow water tower, showing up well 
at the right. 

At Cottage Street we take the right turn and shortly reach the 
end at Maverick Street. Crossing the latter, we now enter the 
long foot-bridge across the little bay which here makes into 
the marshes, in the direction of Wood Island Park, at the right, 
and Breed's Island beyond, toward the left. The bridge-walk, 
when the tide is in, is breezy and exhilarating. The bridge is for 
foot-passers only; the warning sign "bicycles not admitted" 
being conspicuous at either end. It is three quarters of a mile 
long, and if we keep our eyes turned toward the right side, we 
shall be cheered, as we walk, by varying water views over and be- 
yond the railroad. The view on the left side is uninteresting, its 
main features being a jumble of houses in the distance. At the 
end of the bridge we take the right turn, and so reach the main 
way leading up toward Wood Island Park, jutting out into the 
water at the right. The tour of the park will occupy but a few 
minutes, if we do not care to have a turn at the gymnasiums, for 



EAST BOSTON AND CHELSEA, 25 

beyond these it is but little develoj)ed. as yet. After doing* the 
park we take the broad park-waj% or the boulevard, as the local 
residents like to call it, and stroll along in the direction of the 
jumble of houses until we reach the present end at Bennington 
Street. The left turn here carries by winding cross streets up 
toward Eagle Hill, Avhich in some respects is quite as attractive 
as the Camp Hill region. Our route is to the right, to Winthrop 
Junction, and we may if we please walk along Bennington Street, 
passing the old burying-grounds on the shore side, thick with 
trees, the first called the East Boston Cemetery, and the second, 
some way beyond, the Hebrew Cemetei'y, dating from 1844, and 
containing many quaint stones with Jewish inscriptions. The elec- 
tric car line runs along Saratoga Street, above aud parallel with 
Bennington Street, and it would be better, perhaps, to ride over to 
Winthrop Junction, at which the two streets meet. 

From Winthrop Junction, where, if we have ridden, we leave 
the car, Ave may do Breed's Island, the hill of v/hich, bearing the 
modern name of Orient Heights, is right before us. Taking cross 
streets, we reach the road on the slope of the hill. Striking across 
lots, we ascend to the summit, and by the good road-way there 
reach the yellow tower which has been so conspicuous a mark in 
the landscape along our way. On the hill- side the ragged worn 
trees mark the site of tlie old Breed Farm buildings, which for 
long years were the only structures here (the main house of stone 
spreading two hundred feet long, and but one story high, with 
fine terraced gardens in front) and gave a peculiar attractiveness 
to the place, which it now lacks. From the bluff top, broad 
sweeps of water view, on the one side, and built-up hills on the 
other, are spread before us. Beyond the water tower, the hill is 
yet bare of houses, and as we approach the end toward Chelsea 
Creek, which separates it from East Boston, we have in front of us 
a pleasantly expanding panorama. Standing on the outer end of 
the bluff, and looking down to the water and across to East Bos- 
ton, we see the scene of the hottest part of the " Fight on Nod- 
dle's Island," in May, 1775, when the Americans, under Putnam, 
worsted the Bi'itish marines, and the news of which, arriving in 
the Continental Congi'ess, just as it was choosing general officers, 
influenced the vote for Putnam as major general. 

This fight was for the possession of live stock on Noddle's Island. A small 
detachment had been ordered to drive the stock off to the Chelsea side at 
low tide, and being observed from the British warships in the harbor, a 
schooner, a sloop, and the party of marines were despatched to stop the 
work. The Americans fell back to the ditch and lay in ambnsh, from which 
they picked off several of the marines. Then they retired across the creek 
to this island, having meanwhile run off three or four hundred sheep, lambs, 
cows, and horses. Late in the evening reinforcements of about three hun- 



26 EAST BOSTON AND CHELSEA. 

dred men arrived with two pieces of canuou, and the fight was renewed. 
The British fired from their warships, from barges fixed witli swivels, and 
from Eagle Hill, on Noddle's Island. At length the schooner was abandoned, 
and grounded toward morning, when a scouting party from the American 
side, coolly removing her guns and sails, under a fire from the sloop, burned 
her to the water's edge. Then later in the forenoon of the second day the 
sloop became disabled and was towed otf by the enemy's boats. With a few 
more shots the firing ceased and the Americans were victorious. They had 
captured four swivels, and four four-pound cannon, losing not a single man, 
and with only four wounded, while the British loss was reckoned to be 
twenty killed and fifty wounded. In this little fight Joseph Warren served 
as a volunteer under Putnam. 

Returning by Orient Avenue, or taking any of the circling 
streets, at the right, we come around in the northerly direction to 
Walley Street, — into which Bennington Street makes from Win- 
throp Junction, — and take the electric road or the narrow gauge 
line at Belle Isle station, crossing Belle Isle inlet and the marshes 
to Beachmont. Or we can walk over, if we like, by the marsh 
roadway on the further side of the raik'oad. Belle Isle is a little 
grove of trees, utilized as a picnic place. At Beachmont we take 
the electric car for Chelsea, passing through Revere, or return to 
Boston by the narrow-gauge railroad. 

Walk b. If we make this walk an independent one we should 
go out from Boston by electric car marked Chelsea, Broadway, 




■^^P^^ja^^" 



The Ancient Yeaman House. 



and ride through nearly the entire length of Chelsea to Powder- 
horn Hill, leaving the car at John Street from BroadAvay. En- 
tering from Beachmont, we approach in the opposite direction, 
leaving the car at Webster Avenue, near the Lowe Art Tile Works. 
On the way over we pass tlie ancient Yeaman house, the oldest 



EAST BOSTON AND CHELSEA. 27 

house now standing in Suffolk County. This weather-worn land- 
mark appears in view off to the left across a field, after we make 
the turn from Beach Street to Broadway (Fenno's Corner) and are 
Hearing the bridge (on Broadway) over the creek. This has been 
called the " old Yeaman house" for generations, from an early 
owner ; but before Yeaman's occupancy it may have been known 
as the " Shrimpton house," from an earher owner, and earher still, 
as "Newgate house," from Mr. John Newgate, whose landing 
place was nearby. [See note on Mather's mission, 1688, p. 25.] 
It is said to have been built about 1680. For some years Parson 
Cheever, the minister of Chelsea, lived here. The house is within 
the limits of Revere. 

The ascent of Powderhorn Hill is pleasing by almost any of 
the streets rising from Broadway. Taking Webster Avenue, and 
the first opening at the left, we have as we mount a delightfully 
expanding view of town and sea line beyond. The Soldiers' 
Home on the crest occupies a commanding position, its long sweep 
of piazza overlooking an unobstrvxcted view nearly half way round 
the horizon. With its attractive grounds, the sloping hillsides m 
front not too closely covered with houses, and the long flight of 
steps leading down to the streetways far below, its aspect is most 
inviting. The main house was originally built for a summer hotel, 
and has long been a conspicuous landmark for miles around. 
The mound bej^ond the house, shutting off the view on that side, 
is not a fort, as some visitors imagine upon its apj^roach, but an old 
reservoir. Following the roadwaj^ and the path above the reser- 
voir, we reach the topmost part of the hill, and here enjoy one of 
the fullest views of this region of pleasant hills. The long nar- 
row summit, with rounded edges and precipitous sides, suggest- 
ing to some imaginative souls a huge whale-back, stretches out 
quite a distance. Standing near the coast survey bolt, with back 
to the harbor, we have from this vantage ground, more distinctly 
than from any otlier hill-top within the Boston Basin, the com- 
plete outline of its boundary line, beginning with the Blue Hills 
range on the extreme left, and following round the circuit to the 
Saugus hills, tapering toward the farther sea-line at the extreme 
right. Below the sloping city, in the right foreground, lies the broad 
open of the Mystic marshes, with the river winding through them, 
and on either side closely built suburban city and town. Rough 
cuts have been made into the further sides and end of this fine hill 
in the construction of streets and the laying out of house-lots at 
the foot and along its slopes, and unless it is made a public reser- 
vation, as some leading citizens are now urging, within a few years 
it will be ruthlessly hacked, if not destroyed. There is a tradition 



28 EAST BOSTON AND CHELSEA. 

that the hill received its peculiar name from the terms of its pur- 
chase from the Indians by early settlers, who paid for it a horn of 
powder. 

Mount "Washington is the rising' ground northwest of Powder- 
horn Hill, a short walk off. Descending the steep southerly 
slope to cross streets reaching Washington Avenue, or scrambling 
down from the westerly tip to Summit Avenue, and thence, bear- 
ing to the left through Winthrop Street to Washington Avenue, 
we follow the curve of the latter around to the right, and, shortly 
after passing the Lynn car stables, come to pretty Washington 
Park at the foot of the mount. This dainty bit of green, orna- 
mented with trees and shrubs, and inclosed by low, vine-covered, 
brown-stone walls, invites us to leave the roadway and take its 
main path across to the street on its left side, which leads up the 
hill. Before entering this street, however, let us take a few steps 
at the right along the street marking the upper bound of the park, 
that we may see from the inscription upon the flat stone set into 
the park wall that we are in historic parts. This inscription 
reads : 

This stone, once a door-step of the old Pratt mansion visited by Washing- 
ton during the siege of Boston, stands opposite the barrack grounds of 
Colonel Gerrish's regiment of 1775-7G. 

Returning to Franklin Street, at the left side of the park, we 
make our way up the hill, passing attractive suburban houses and 
grounds, enjoying the shade of the trees lining the road, and the 
occasional bits of views on the outer side. At the top let us enter 
the field across the upper road into which Franklin Street makes, 
and from its further side look over the landscape spreading oitt 
below and beyond. We have at our right Revere, at our left 
Everett, and glimpses of the sea between. This mass of trees 
over yonder, to the north, marks Woodlawn Cemetery, which lies 
in part within the limits of Everett. So also lies most of this 
Mount Washington, the dividing line between Chelsea and Everett 
being just back of the estates on the west side of Franklin Street. 

Down the hill by the way we came up, and again on Washington 
Avenue, let us make a short detour around the upper street to the 
northeast leading over to the Woodlawn road, and take a look at 
the oldest house in Chelsea, and especially interesting as a land- 
mark of the " Andros usurpation" times. This is the ancient 
"Way-Ireland house, and subsequently a homestead of the Pratt 
family, at which Increase Mather was in hiding before he sailed 
for England, in April, 1688, as agent for the oppressed colonists, to 
appeal for the intercession of the king. 

Mather had been selected for this mission by part of the civil and nearly 
all the ecclesiastical authorities. Randolph, determined if possible to pre- 



EAST BOSTON AND CHELSEA. 



29 



vent his departure, had instigated Dudley to issue a warrant for his arrest, 
and to avoid service of the court, he went secretly and in disguise from 
house to house of friends, finally bringing up here, whence he made his way 
to the water and so reached the sliip " President " lying off the coast. The 
story is told in the "Remarkables of Increase Mather" in part as follows: 
"Mr. Mather withdrew privately from his house [in Boston] in a changed 
habit, into the house of Colonel Phillips, in Charlestown ; in which withdraw 
it is remarkable, that a wicked fellow whose name was Thurton, and who 
was placed as an under-sheriff to watch him and seize him if he stirred 
abroad, — now saw him and knew him, and yet found himself struck with an 
enfeebling terror, that he had no power to meddle with him. From thence 
he was by certain well-disposed young men of his flock transported unto 
Winnisimmet ; and from thence he went aboard a Ketch which lay ready to 
assist his voyage. From which he was, on April 7, 1688, gladly received 
aboard the ship (called the President) on which he had at first shipped him- 
self, and so bore awaj' for England." Sewall notes in his diary: "Fri. 
Mar. 30, 1688. I am told that Mr. Mather left his house and the town and 
went to Capt. PliilUps at Charlestown. Sabbath, Ap. 1. To Aron Way's by 
Hogg Island. Tuesday, Ap. 3. At night from Aron Way's to the Boat near 
Mr. Newgate's Landing Place, so through Crooked Lane [Straits of Belle Isle 
inlet] and Pulling Point Gut to Mr. Ruck's fishing-Catch thence to the Presi- 
dent, Capt. Arthur Tanar's ship. Satterday, Apr. 7. Captain Arthur Tanar 
sails about 10 aclock, a shallop follows quickly after, which 't is said to pre- 
vent Mr. Mather's getting on Board : 't is certain all the Town is full of dis- 
course about Mather." 




'^f^l/^.'Vrfieipn-T- 



The Way-Ireland House. 

Returning to Wasliingrton Avenue, our course is now back 
through the city to the United States Hospital grounds and the 
site of the fortified house of Samuel Maverick, the first perma- 
nent dwelling in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. It is pleasanter 
to ride over this part. So we board any Washington Avenue car 
bound down town, except such as are marked Winnisimmet Ferry, 
and in fifteen minutes reach the Hospital grounds near the Chelsea 
North Bridge connecting with Charlestown. The building on the 



30 EAHT BOSTON AND CHELSEA. 

higher hill is the Marine Hospital, and those on the hill slopes 
toward the water constitute the Naval Hospital. The grounds 
are not freely open to the public, but a pass is not difficult to ob- 
tain, especially if it appears that the applicant desires merely to 
stroll about them and not to enter the buildings. It is a fair 
tract, beautifully situated, embracing upward of a hundred acres 
of upland and lowland, attractively laid out, with flower beds 
about the chief surgeon's house, broad fields beyond the principal 
structures, and pleasant pastures. 

The Naval Hospital was established here in 1823, and the Marine Hospital 
two years later, succeeding the first marine hospital erected in the Navy 
Yard at Charlestowu in 1802. The main part of the naval building, built of 
Quincy granite, dates from 1836, and the wing was added in 1865. This hos- 
pital admits invalid or wounded officers, seamen, and marines from the New 
England navy yards, and from United States naval vessels or foreign stations 
coming into the port of Boston. The Marine Hospital admits invalids of the 
merchant marine, and is supported by a fee required of every seaman enter- 
ing the port of Boston and Charlestown. The further parts of the grounds 
are occupied by the ordnance department of the navy. 

The site of Maverick's fortified house is within the field on 
the point bordering on the Mystic and Island End River on the 
west side. Maverick built here in 1624 or 1625, and according to 
his own narrative, published in 1660 (which was discovered in the 
British Museum in 1884), the dwelling was then standing "the 
Antientest house in the Massachusetts Government." It was 
fortified " with a Pillizado fflankers and gvmnes both belowe and 
above in them which awed the Indians who at that time had a 
mind to Cutt off the English." "They once forced it," Maver- 
ick relates, " but receiving a repulse never attempted it more 
although (as now they confesse) they repented it when 2 yeares 
after they saw so many English come over." Maverick could not 
have chosen a more jjicturesque spot in his large domain than this. 
The land lies to-day evidently as it lay in his day, gently sloping 
up from the shore, with the protecting hill behind. It is conject- 
ured that the house stood on the little knoll back from the rivers, 
in front, perhaps, of the row of ancient trees, yet vigorous, which 
add charm to the picture which the place presents. It was in this 
house that Winthrop and his associates were entertained upon 
their arrival in Boston Bay, on the seventeenth of June, 1630, and 
not at the Noddle's Island house as the local historians have held. 
That house was not built until about 1634. The error was started 
in Johnson's "Wonder Working Providence " (London, 1654), and 
other wi'iters repeated it until Judge Mellen Chamberlain, the 
historian of Chelsea, corrected it in a paper based upon the Mav- 
erick MS. of 1660, and on various researches of his own, which he 
contributed to the Massachusetts Historical Society in 1885, 



EAST BOSTON AND CHELSEA. 



31 



Judge Chamberlain shows that Maverick and John Blackleach were joint 
owners of all Winnisimmet outside the territory included in the United 
States Hospital grounds, these grounds apparently beuig owned by Maverick 
exclusively, before the coming of the Puritans. That he was still living here 
in 1631, a year after Wiuthrop's arrival, as appears by the following record 
(Mass. Colony Records) under date of August IG that year : " It is ordered 
that Mr. Shepheard and Robert Coles shall be fined five marks apiece, that 
Edward Gibbons Twenty shillings for abusing themselves disorderly with 
drinking too much strong drink aboard the Friendship and at Mr. Maverick 
his house at Winnisimmet." That there are reasons which indicate that 
neither at that time nor for some time after was there any residence on 
Noddle's Island — among them this record in Winthrop's Journal six moutlis 
after he is said to have entertained the governor there : "three of his [the 
governor's] servants coming in a shallop from Mistic were driven upon Nod- 
dle's Island and forced to stay there all night without fire or food." That 
the Winnisimmet estate was occupied as late as December, 1633, when, Win- 
throp notes in his Journal, "Mr. Maverick of Winnisimmet buried in one 
day" John Sagamore, the Indian chief, and "almost all of his people" who 
had died of the small pox at their dwelling-place across Island End River : 
adding that Mr. Maverick " is worthy of perpetual remembrance: himself, 
his wife, and servants went daily to them, ministered to their necessities and 
buried their dead, aud took away many of their children." That the Noddle 
Island house was built not earlier than 1634, and probably that year, as ap- 
pears from these facts : in July, 1637, Sir Harry Vane and Lord Ley dined 
with Mr. Maverick at Noddle's Island ; he doubtless had a house there at 
that date : from May, 1635, to May, 1636, he was in Virginia obtaining corn 
for the Bay colonists, and that this house was built before he took that jour- 
ney is inferred from the fact that his wife writing to Trelawny dated her 
letter from " Nottell's Island in Mass. Bay the 20th Nov. 1635." Maverick was 
a young man of but twenty-two years of age when he first came to Winni- 
simmet. 




Site of Maverick's First Fortified House. 

From the fine hill back of the Hospital fields there is to be 
obtained an interesting view, on the one side, of Chelsea rising 
toward Powderhorn Hill, and in front, the river. 

Leaving these grounds we had better walk back along Broad- 
way to Broadway Square, — the old-fashioned business central 
square of the city — and there take Winnisimmet Street to the 
ferry, although we can make the ferry in less than half the dis- 
tance through cross streets near the water side. Or if we prefer 
to return to town by the electric car, we can take it at the Hos- 
pital gate, close by the new North Chelsea Bridge to Charlestown. 



Everett, Maiden, Melrose, Sangus. 

From Boston to Everett by electric car from Scollay Square, via Charlea- 
towii, 4 miles; fare, 5 cents. By steam car [B. & M., E. Div.] to Everett 
station, 3}^ miles, fare, 8 cents. Return from Maiden Centre. 

Boston to Maplewood [Maiden] by steam car [B. & M., W. Div.], 5 miles ; 
fare, 13 cents. Return from Cliftondale [Saugus]. 

Boston to Pine Banks [Maiden and Melrose] by electric car, from Scollay 
Square to Maiden Centre, change there to Chelsea and Stonehani line, about? 
miles ; fare, 10 cents. By steam car [B. &. M., W. Div.], to Middlesex Fells 
station [Melrose] ; 6 miles, fare, 10 cents. Return from Cliftondale [Saugus] ; 
or from Saugus Centre, a mile beyond. 

Walk a [No. 5]. Includes the Van Vorhees farm on Mystic Side, and 
Island End Creek ; passes over Belmont Hill to Woodlawn ; along the rural 
road on the easterly side of the cemetery into Revere ; by Beach Street through 
Linden [Maiden] ; through Salem Street to Maiden Centre and the Converse 
Memorial ; finishes in or about Maiden Centre. 

Walk b [No. 6]. Through Lebanon Street from Maplewood to Melrose ; 
around Swain's Pond ; from Lebanon Street in Melrose, to Upham Street ; 
thence by the country road to Saugus ; alongside The Ledges, and the brook 
at their feet ; amidst rural scenery and by old houses ; Cliftondale. 

Walk c [No. 7]. Embraces Pine Banks ; Boston Rock and its surrounding 
woods [Wyoming] ; along Main Street, through Wyoming, toward Melrose 
Centre ; passes over Howard Street to Noi'th Saugus : by ancient landmarks in 
seventeenth-century houses ; along rural Main Street, Saugus, to the New- 
buryport Turnpike ; across to Cliftondale : from Cliftondale to Saugus Centre : 
historic houses by the way ; " Appleton's Pulpit " and " Pranker's Pond." 

What are now the cities of Everett and Maiden, and the town of Melrose, 
formerly, for the most part, constituted the town of Maiden : and Maiden 
was at first a part of Charlestown known as " Mystic Side." The petition of 
"Mystic Side men" to be "a towne by themselves " was granted by the 
Court of Assistants in 1649, and seventy- seven years later the town was en- 
larged by a further taking from Charlestown of territory on the northerly 
side of the Mystic River and on the easterly side of North (afterward Maiden) 
River. Thereafter it held its own until 1817, when a part was lost to Med- 
ford. Next, in 1850, the part known as North Maiden was taken from it and 
made the town of Melrose : and in 1870, South Maiden, including the territory 
annexed from Charlestown in 17'2G, was set off as Everett. Maiden was in- 
corporated as a city June 9, 1881. It was named for the town in England 
from which several of the " Mystic Side " men had come. Although pretty 
compactly built in its central parts, it has numei'ous pleasant landscape fea- 
tures. It embraces sightly hills, a beautiful private park free to the public, 
known as Pine Banks, and a pai't of the Middlesex Fells Reservation. Its 
main divisions are : Maiden Centre ; Maplewood, Linden, and Linden High- 
lands on the east : Oak Grove and Edgeworth on the west. 

Everett is small in territory (2325 acres), in length, 21/2 miles, and in breadth, 
1^ miles ; and thick with Jiouses in small lots. The Mystic River runs along 
its southern boundary, the Maiden River is on the western, and Island End 
River on the eastern. The southwestern part is largely composed of salt 
marsh, and the centre is only about fifty feet above mean tide mark. But 
from this part the land gradually rises toward the northeast into Belmont 
Hill (133 feet) and Mount Wasliington (175 feet). Tlie valley between these 
hills stretches northwesterly to Maiden, and on its easterly side, as the Maiden 
end is neared, is a smaller elevation known as Corbett Hill. In the northwest 
part is Woodlawn Cemetery. Everett was named for Edward Everett. 



EVERETT, MALDEN, MELROSE, S AUG US. 33 

Melrose marks the eastern boundary of Middlesex County. It covers 2931 
acres. It was incorporated May 3, 1850. Its surface is charmingly dlTcrsi- 
fied with valleys, hiUs, lowland fields and upland woods, ponds and brooks ; 
and it has numerous beautiful landscape features. Within its southern and 
western borders are the Middlesex Fells, and in other parts several pleasant 
local hills and rocky heights. L Pond Brook, the outlet of L Pond, runs 
through the valley in andabout which the main part of the town is built, and 
is joined in the Wyoming district by Spot Pond Brook, the outlet of Spot 
Pond in the Fells, from which point the united streams flow into Maiden 
River. The town is in five divisions, — the Fells, Wyoming, the Centre, Mel- 
rose Higlilands, and Morrisville. The name of Melrose was selected at the 
suggestion of a Scotchman, an old resident in the place, who fancied in it 
some slight resemblance to the famous village on the Tweed. 

Saugus when first settled was within the territory of Lynn, which then 
included what are now tlie towns of Swampscott, Nahaut, Lynnfield, Reading, 
and Wakefield. The name of Saugus is from the Indian word Sagus, meaning 
extended, and was applied by the first settlers to the territory which became 
Lynn, because, it is presumed, of the broad salt marshes characterizing the 
shore parts. It was made Lynn in 1G37 by an order, remarkable for brevity 
and directness, — " Saugus is called Lin." It was not till 1815 that the parts 
comprising the present town of Saugus were set off from Lynn, and the old 
name restored. The picturesque Saugus River was originally by the Indians 
called Abousett. Saugus includes about 13*^ square miles of pleasant plains 
and hills, with upward of 2 square miles of salt marsh. Although in the vil- 
lages manufacturing is pursued to considerable extent, there are yet numer- 
ous comfortable farms in the outlying parts, and the town possesses many 
charming rural features. Old houses and ancient estates also abound here. 

Walk a. The inviting parts of Everett, which is most remark- 
able for its rapid growth, and its thickly built up streets along 
marshes and over hills, are to be covered in a walk in two sec- 
tions, with an extended car ride between. Going out by the regu- 
lar electric car route, — by way of Charlestown and the Maiden 
Bridge over the Mystic from Charlestown Neck, — the first sec- 
tion of the walk is to and through the old Van Vorhees place on 
the banks of the Mystic and the marshes of Island End River ; 
(and) the second begins at the end of the street car route to 
Woodlawn, proceeding past the eastern side of the cemetery, 
by a rural road into Revere, and thence by Beach Street toward 
Maiden. 

If we go out by steam car we leave the station in Everett on the 
right side, and reach the Van Vorhees place by way of Bow 
Street, bearing to the left. But from the electric car line the 
walk across is shorter, and a degree pleasanter, although by 
neither way is the passage fair. Approaching by electric car we 
have a good distant view of the farm across the river to the right, 
after the turn from Charlestown Neck on to the Maiden road 
(Broadway by name), and it is with us, growing fuller, as we pro- 
ceed over the bridge across the Mystic. Alighting at Washburn 
Street, at the right, about a half mile beyond the bridge, we pass 
through that short way and over a cross street to Beacham Street, 
which leads directly to the farm. This is one of the oldest of 
" Mystic Side " roads, originally laid out in 1681, as " the Road to 



34 EVERETT, MALDEN, MELROSE, SAUGUS. 

Wormwood Point," the name first given the peninsTila upon which 
the farm lies, and Avhich it bore till it came into the possession of 
the Beacham family early in the eighteenth century. Thereafter 
it went by the name of Beachana's Point, tiU the advent of the 
Van Vorheeses early in the present century. Beacham Street 
passes over a marshy territory, built up on either side, but not 
so closely as to shut off all view of the wide extending marshes, 
and the distant uplands at the left. 

A walk of not more than fifteen or twenty minutes brings us 
within sight of the old Van Vorhees mansion-house by a grove of 
stately trees, a conspicuous and agreeable feature in a neighbor- 
hood of cheap modern dwellings : and presently we are at the 
entrance of the farm . The mansion-house stands here on the bend 
of the road, occupying a slight bluff, set well back from the hedge 
extending along the roadside wall, and approached by a broad 
flagging from the hedge-arched gateway. It is a typical mansion- 
house of early nineteenth-century fashion, broad, square, spacious : 
of block-wood front, rounded two-storied vestibule, and flat roof 
with extra story. Although worn somewhat by time and not in 
the fine condition of its prime in the old Van Vorhees days, when 
the farm was well kept up and the house occupied by the owner 
of the estate, it is yet a picturesque, serene, dignified homestead, 
with a little of the " grand air " yet left. Round the curve of the 
road, screened at the approach of the farm by the mansion-house 
and grounds, is the large stable with fine herds of cattle and 
horses, on one side, and on the other, below the mansion-house, 
the fai'mer's house, dating from an earlier period. Following the 
road, which becomes a rural lane, circling round to the right, we 
may explore the entire peninsula: and enjoy a pleasant walk 
along the marsh side and by a sightly bluff, from which good 
river views are to be obtained. It was here, perhaps, on this 
sightly bluff, that the little fortification was thrown up after the 
battle of Bunker Hill, when at the same time earthworks were 
also built at the junction of Main and Bow Streets, further back 
on the mainland. During the battle, a company was stationed on 
this point, under the command of a Maiden man, and we may imag- 
ine that its position was taken on this same bluff. The peninsula 
is interesting, moreover, as the dwelling-place of Sagamore John, 
with a remnant of the once powerful tribe of Pawtuckets, whom 
the Puritans found upon their coming decimated by the " plague" 
and tribal wars. Here the chief, Sagamore John, and the greater 
number of his people were stricken with the small-pox, and dying, 
were buried by Samuel Maverick, then living across the creek (or 
Island End River, as it is called), on the present Naval Hospital 



EVERETT, JTALDEN, MELROSE, S AUG US. 35 

grounds. [See Walk No. 4.] We find this indeed a beautiful 
place, and we echo the suggestion of Mr. Sylvester Baxter, that 
it should he reserved for Metropolitan park purposes, connected 
by pleasant routes with the centre of the population of Everett, 
and with Chelsea by bridge sprung across the creek. 

Returning by the way we came, or, at the end of Beacham 
Street, taking Bow Street around to the right, we reach Broad- 
way again, and here board an electric car, marked Woodlawn 
Cemetery via Chelsea and Ferry Street. This carries us through 
the centre of Everett, by Belmont Hill, passing the Fred E. Parlin 
Memorial or Public Library building (given to the city by Parlin, 
long a resident of Everett, as a memorial to his son), on the left 
side of the way, and through Everett Square to Chelsea Street, at 
the right. Thence the ride is an agreeable one, with views along 
Chelsea Street, at the right over the marsh-lands toward the Van 
Vorhees place, and an occasional outlook from the road up the 
hill beyond. Finally turning into Elm Street, well named from 
the lines of fine trees at its entrance, we reach the beginning of 
the second section of our Everett walk — along the rural road 
past the easterly side of "Woodlawn Cemetery. 

This road we reach by a short walk up the hill beyond the en- 
trance gate. It comes over from Chelsea, and is a pretty country 
road a large part of the way. Following it along toward Revere, 
we pass occasionally a comfortable farm-house, full of years, with 
the conventional two elms before the entrance door. Such an one, 
and most attractive, is observed on the right side of the road, just 
after the cemetery is passed. On the right also, and beyond, are 
shapely drumlins, from which are extensive views over marsh and 
coast scenery. The road, with its grassy sidewalks, makes its 
pleasant way along by broad meadows, lowlands, and fields. 
Some distance beyond the farm-house which we have remarked, 
the road curves to the right and again to the left, offering a pleas- 
ing view over swamp-lands, with a brook marked by lines of 
willows, making off through them, and in the distance, around to 
the north, the boundary hills of the Boston Basin. Further along, 
beyond the second bend, we come to a refreshing clump of wil- 
lows, with a brook on the opposite side of the road, a favorite 
resting-place for bicyclers, who much frequent this way. Our 
road ends at Copeland's Corner, where it makes a junction with 
Beach Street coming over from Maiden, and continuing to the 
right, to Revere Beach, according to the guide-post two and a 
half miles distant. Here we may take an electric car passing 
along Beach Street Maiden-ward, west, and make return to Boston 
from Linden station, on the Saugus Branch [B. & M., E. Div.]. It 



36 EVERETT, MALDEN, MELROSE, S AUG US. 

would be pleasanter, however, since the walk, as our walks go, has 
been a short one, to continue on by car, or part of the way afoot, 
through Maplewood by way of Salem Street, which the car line 
enters from Beach Street, to Maiden Centre. The rural parts of 
Salem Street are pleasing, and it curves around and over hills as 
a country road should. On the right side at, and for some distance 
beyond, the entrance of Beach Street, are abrupt rocky steeps, 
fringed with trees : while on the other side, as we stroll or ride 
along, we have refreshing views, now and again, over broad mead- 
ows and an open country in the foreground to distant hills. As 
Maiden Centre is approached the way becomes more urban, and 
indeed some distance before we are well into Maplewood the rural 
features of the road disappear. 

From Maiden Centre, after a look into the Converse Memorial 
or Public Library building, which we should not miss, we may 
continue southward, down Main Street by car to Madison Street, 
and thence afoot to the ancient burying-ground near Bell Rock, 
returning to Boston from the Bell Rock station [B. & M., E. Div.]. 
But if it is preferred to return direct from the Centre we may 
take the electric cars in Maiden Square here, having choice of two 
or three routes, or the steam cars from the Maiden station [B. & 
M., E. Div.], a short walk down Ferry Street. 

The Converse Memorial Building is one of the richest pieces 
of architecture in the country round about Boston, the design of 
H. H. Richardson, and one of the last of his beautiful works, 
having been completed shortly before his death. It was erected, 
as the tablet in the porch informs us, by Elisha S. and Mary D. 
Converse, in memory of their son, Frank Eugene Converse (who, 
a lad of seventeen, when clerk in the Maiden Bank, was killed at 
his post of duty in December, 1863, by one Green, a villager, 
in the latter' s attempt to rob the bank when the boy was alone 
in charge) and presented to the city of Maiden for use as a 
free Public Library and Art Gallery. The library contains an 
admirable collection of books, and in the Art Gallery are notable 
paintings by Albion H. Bicknell, George L. Brown, William E. 
Norton, H. Winthrop Pierce, Frank H. Collins, W. T. Robinson, 
H. W. Herrick, and other well known artists, with some fine 
sculpture, and a number of etchings, engravings and photographs. 
The paintings include Bicknell's " Lincoln at Gettysburg," on the 
occasion of the dedication of the National Cemetery, in 1865, with 
its twenty or more excellent portraits in the group of statesmen 
and soldiers surrounding the President. The bronze bust of Mr. 
Converse, placed on the wall opposite the entrance hall, is by 
Samuel Kitson. 



EVERETT, MALDEN, MELROSE, SAUGUS. 37 

This is a building of brown sandstone in the Provencal Romanesque style 
of architecture. The feature of the main wing, fronting on Salem Street, is 
the colonnade of muUioned windows across nearly all the front. The sky line 
is broken by two towers, the central one octagonal, its upper portion pierced 
with arched windows, the corner tower round and unbroken by apertures. 
The wall of irregular height surrounding the court yard on two sides, of the 
same material as the main building, forms two sides of an equilateral, the 
other sides being formed by the wings of the building. The entrance porch 
called the Memorial Porch, from tlie tablet which it contains, is the most 
elaborately ornamented of any part of the building. The open side is formed 
of four arches supported by carved pillars, each pillar consisting of a cluster 
of four columns about a massive block of .stone. The delicate carvings of the 
capitals represent a cutting of vines interwoven with geometrical forms. A 
marked feature of the exterior ornamentation of the building is that upon 
the octagonal tower. On each of the corners between the windows is the 
sculptured head of a laughing boy, wearing a cap drawn close over his curl- 
ing hair. The west gable is pierced by a large mullioned window, its arch 
rising into the second story. The south gable shows mosaic work cut and 
built into the wall, of three colors of sand and green stone. An arch for 
forming a part of the Memorial Porch, a large window below, and a smaller 
one above, break the surface of the gable. At the corners, carved out of 
solid stone, is a huge dragon. Throughout the building the caps, cornices, 
finials, crockets, and the beads of the arches are all carved from full sized 
models. The interior is marked by richness of color, and simplicity of 
treatment. Memorial Hall, the first entered, is wainscoted in oak panels, 
the walls of rough sand finish, and colored in Pompeian green and ochre. A 
high arch divides it from the Library proper. There is no break in the high 
cai'ved ceiling. The alcoves of the Delivery room are formed by ten clusters 
of fluted columns with elaborately carved caps and bases, upon which the 
curved gallery runs around three sides of the room. The finish here is in 
quartered white oak. The northern wall of the Reading Room is nearly all 
taken up by an immense fireplace. 

Walk b. We reach our starting-point for this walk by the 
steam cars to Maplewood station. From the station we take 
Maplewood Street to Salem Street and here cross to Lebanon 
Street, practically the beginning of the walk. The way now lies 
the length of Lebanon Street into Melrose. Shortly after pass- 
ing from the village, and beyond the shops marking the begin- 
ning of the street, we come into a pleasant country which grows 
pastoral as we proceed. With sweeping curves, on the one side 
clifiFs and hills, and on the other more or less open country, the 
road makes its peaceful waj\ We pass picturesque, weather-worn 
houses, here a modest homestead, the big chimney denoting good 
old age, with brilliant garden patches, and blooming rose-bushes ; 
there a cottage on the edge of woods to which a worn foot-path 
thrt)ugh the grass leads : — a qviarter which the enterprising real- 
estate operator has not yet seized upon for development, and is 
yet delightfully unimproved. 

At the fork made by Mt. Pleasant and Swain's Pond Avenues 
(they should be called roads) at the right, and our road bending 
toward the left, we may, if we like, and are ready considerably to 
extend our walk, take the Swain's Pond Road and make a large 
circuit, coming back to Lebanon Street by way of Grove Street, 



38 EVERETT, MALDEN, MELROSE, SAUGUS. 

near Melrose Post Office. This detour will carry us around 
Swain's Pond (so named as early as 1660) and through a charm- 
ing rural region, with few habitations in the earlier part, and 
these of ancient make. The road opens invitingly, suggesting a 
lane-like way. If we follow it, at the first bend toward the left, 
we shall come upon a pretty brook, whose music we shall have 
with us for quite a little distance. From this bend it is a short 
walk to the pond side. The roadway follows the water's edge to 
the hill beyond, where it turns sharply to the left and, leaving the 
pond, continues in a long sweep around to Grove Street. At the 
point where it leaves the pond side and makes the bend up the 
hill, a cutting straight ahead leads by a left turn into a narrow 
way, not nauch more than a cart road, which invites exploration, 
but it has an uninteresting finish in a little hillside quarter occu- 
pied by small farms. After completing its circuit of the pond, 
Swain's Pond Road broadens and becomes less picturesque, as its 
sides appear cleared and cut into house-lots. The walk through 
Grove Street, however, though a well built up thoroughfare, is 
cheerful. From the central square, where the roads meet, we 
continue by Lebanon Street to TJpliani Street (in early times 
Upham's Lane, named for the Uphams first settled here about 
1650) into which we turn and follow to the eastward over to 
Saugus. 

The walk to Saugus, after the thickly built portion of Upham 
Street is passed, and we step from the hard asphalt sidewalk, of 
which Melrose is over-fond, into the grassy roadside path, is full of 
rural delights. The road passes all the way through a charming 
country, with varying views on either side ; and when it gets fairly 
off from the town it develops into the pleasantest of country roads, 
fringed with thick grass, and vines, and bush, and often well 
shaded by handsome trees. In June it is in many places lined 
with masses of buttercups, clover tops, daisies, wild strawberry 
blossoms ; and in autumn it makes a rich display of color in its 
ripening roadside growth. We pass occasionally a prosperous- 
looking country-seat, but more frequently fair farms, with or- 
chards and meadows, and pastures stocked with fine cattle. As 
the road enters Saugus, down a sharp hill, it passes a remarkaMy 
picturesque line of ledges, beautifully draped with ferns, and a 
brook babbling at their feet, a bit of charming scenery that should 
be jjreserved in the custody of the Trustees of Public Reserva- 
tions ; and from this point on for some distance its charms are 
many. It approaches the village with a series of curves, and 
gives us pleasant views of the serene old town. 

On the Saugus side of the line the name of our road changes 



EVERETT, MALDEN, MELROSE, SAVGUS. 39 

from UpLaiu to Essex Street, and as such it continues through 
the quarter known as Cliftondale. Beyond the Newburyport 
turnpike, which branches off at the left on the outskirts of Clif- 
tondale, the way becomes less interesting, but only so by compari- 
son with the delightful section through which we have been 
passing. Of the houses in this neighborhood one at least invites 
special attention — the large old-fashioned structure with broad 
two-story columned veranda supporting the roof, standing back 
from the road, near the little grassy triangle. This is known as 
the Dr. Cheever Place. It was built in 1808, by Dr. Cheever, who 
had served as a surgeon in the Revolutionary War, and in its 
prosperous days was a famous mansion-house, surrounded bj-^ a 
little forest of handsome trees, and the centre-piece of an exten- 
sive estate. A quarter of a mile or so beyond we come to the 
railroad which the highway crosses, and a httle way further on 
turn toward the Cliftondale station [Saugus Branch, B. & M., E. 
Div.], at the right, where our walk finishes, our return to Boston 
being made by steam car. 

Walk c. For this walk, beginning at Pine Banks, on the line 
between Maiden and Melrose, and finishing in Saugus, we take 
the steam cars to Middlesex Fells station, or we may ride out 
by electric car, making change at Maiden Square. If we take 
the steam car out we have a walk of a few minutes to Pine 
Banks : if we go out by electric car we come directly upon the 
main entrance to the park. The walk from the steam railroad 
station is a pretty one, the roadway, at the right, passing by ex- 
pansive fields and up to Main Street in front of Pine Banks. On 
the other side of the track — the left — we see the Fells spread- 
ing back from the Cascade Entrance [see Middlesex Fells, Walk 
No. 8]. At the upper corner of the station road and Main Street 
we have in the broad old dwelling, with the two rugged elms 
before the portal, an admirable specimen of the combined farm 
and mansion-house of the early eighteenth century. This was one 
of several Lynde homesteads, within the territory of Melrose, built 
about a century and a half ago, when this beautiful valley was 
embraced in the extensive Lynde Farm. The interior has all the 
characteristics of the w^ell-ordered house of its period — the large 
tow-studded rooms, the broad hall extending through the middle 
of the house, the big chimney and the massive oven, chimney 
closets, corner closets, and quaint cupboards. The Lyndes were 
among the earliest settlers here, Ensign Thomas Lynde mov- 
ing from old Charlestown very soon after the incorporation of 
Maiden. He was a son of Thomas Lynde, of Charlestown, who 
was made a freeman in 1G34, and from him the numerous family 



40 EVERETT, MALDEN, MELROSE, S AUG US. 

of Melrose Lyndes descend. In early times the Lynde holdings 
included nearly all the southern territory of the present town. 




The Lynde House, near Pine Banks. 



Main Street crossed, we enter Pine Banks by a side roadway, 
and at the summit of the slight rise come at once into the thick of 
the woods, near by the swamp which has been transformed into a 
little mirroring pond. The main entrance is some distance below, 
or Maiden-ward, by way of Pine Banks Road, passing a pretty lodge; 
the road skirting the entire park, coming out on the Melrose 
side. This park, by the way, it should be stated, is not precisely 
speaking a public park, but a private pleasure-ground loaned to 
the public by the Hon. Elisha S. Converse, who has done so much 
for Maiden in various ways, and under whose direction this pre- 
serve has been laid out. It is as free to the people, however, as 
any of the regular piablic reservations ; and the only rules laid 
down for the observance of those who enjoy it as a resort simply 
prohibit the plucking of any flower, Avild or cultivated, or the dis- 
figurement of any tree or shrub. We find it a region of noble 
pines, covering a beautifully undulating surface, with shaded 
walks, and charming drives winding picturesquely over and 
around hills and into dales. It is much resorted to by picnickersf 
while it is daily used largely by workmen and women passing 
between the factories of Mr. Converse across the railroad and 
their homes beyond. Excursionists are attracted hither, from a 
wide circle of country, by means of the electric cars which pass 
along Main Street, connecting Chelsea with Stoneham and 
Woburn. 



EVERETT, MALDEN, MELROSE, SAUGUS. 41 



-- =-^-:-. i^'^i 



p/ 



# 











n 



In the open space about the little pond to which paths and drive- 
ways lead from the skirting road, public meetings are sometimes 
held on b>undays. Here are also conveniences for picnickers. 

From this pleasant park 
our way lies across a broad 
plain or field toward Bos- 
ton Rock, the elevation 
next beyond Pine Banks 
lying in the Wyoming sec- 
tion of Melrose. Coming 
out by the Pine Banks 
Road, we shoidd bear to 
the right and take the 
roadway across the mid- 
dle of the field. We must 
avoid the cross path, to- 
ward which we wistfully 
look when once into the 
midway road, for the rea- 
son, as a sign here pro- 
claims, that it is not a 
public path. Entering the 
main road on the farther 
side, we should take the 
right turn toward the cem- 
etery. We can, indeed, 
reach the Boston Rock re- 
gion, which now is just in 
front of us, by a pretty di- 
rect way, if we are ready 
to indulge in some hard 

scrambling; but it would be quite as well to take the wood 
paths, approaching the height b^'" a circuitous way around its base. 
These wood paths are to be reached from the road into which we 
are turning, just beyond the bend by the entrance to the ceme- 
tery. We shall observe, on the left side of the road at about this 
point, if we look sharply, a narrow opening in the bank : and 
thence, easily passing under the slight rustic fencing, we may 
enter the side path. Following this path in an easterly direction 
we quickly strike the slightly beaten way running along the base 
of the hill to a rocky quarter bej'^ond, where is a broader wood 
path, leading northward. The broader path we next follow for a 
short distance till we come to a fork ; and from this point, taking 
the left branch, our way is upward through the splendid woods, 



««i42::£= 




Spring Path, Pine Banks. 



42 EVERETT, MALDEN, MELROSE, SAUGUS. 

largely of pine, diflfering from Pine Banks only in being wilder. 
The path from the roadway is, in parts, rather faint, but we shall 
find little difficulty in keeping to it, if we mind our bearings. 
Reaching the summit of this finely wooded hill, we come upon 
the Rock, or cluster of rocks, with a bare, treeless surface. 
Making our easy way to the topmost of the ledge, suddenly a 
magnificent view bursts upon us. 

Facing Pine Banks, we have directly beneath us the lovely in- 
tervale of the field over which we have crossed : beyond the 
Banks, the hill crowned with the black tower of the Maiden 
Water Works. At the right of the latter, on the distant horizon 
line, we discern the shadowy range of the Blue Hills : in nearer 
view, Boston, and nearer still. Maiden ; and around to the right, 
the grand sweep of the Fells Hills. At the left lie mingled 
woods and town. In the distance is seen the yellow tower of 
Breed's Island, and the sea line beyond : then, nearing the Maiden 
water-tower, the massed house-tops of Everett. Back of us are 
the small woods, close up to the ledge. From the lower rock line, 
or gallery, on the edge of the precipitous sides, fringed with tree- 
tops, we have a closer view of the valley below, which has a 
peculiar charm. 

Leaving Boston Rock, we strike into the little woods, taking a 
northerly direction, and make our way toward Wyoming. The 
path is broad nearly all the way down, passing a part of the dis- 
tance beneath lofty pines, and carpeted with soft pine needles. 
The air is sweet with rich pine odors. Now and again the melodi- 
ous piping of birds is heard, and other pleasant wood sounds min- 
gled with the noise of builders' hammers, for this is a narrow 
copse and the town is pressing close upon it. The down path 
covers about half a mile, at length emerging in an open by the 
roadway, — the Main street which we crossed further down to 
enter Pine Banks. Upon reaching the open we turn to the left 
and come out on to the road by way of the hillside avenue lead- 
ing to the little cottage-house at the left, backed against the 
trees. 

Let us now take the electric car and ride on to Melrose, for 
this part of Main Street is not especially interesting. The earlier 
section in Wyoming is the prettiest, being well adorned with 
trees and picturesque side-hill slopes. Wyoming Avenue, which 
we soon pass on the left, leads down to the Wyoming station of 
the steam railroad, and goes on to the Fells, ultimately joining 
Main Street above Spot Pond. We should leave the car in Mel- 
rose at the head of Emerson Street, which makes up from the Mel- 
rose station, a short walk to the left, passing by several old estates, 



EVERETT, MALDEX, MELROSE, S AUG US. 43 

among them that of Mrs. Mary A. Livermore, the well known 
lecturer. 

Now again afoot, we start for the walk around to Saugus. Con- 
tinuing up Main Street we pass, on the left, placid L Pond, which 
luis borne this name since 1638. At the fork in the roads which is 
soon reached, we take the right, Green Street, following the elec- 
tric car tracks. Main Street, making off to the left, goes on to 
Wakefield and Reading. In Green Street we are treading one of 
the older roads. Following it to the finish at the little park with 
its centre fountain, we here enter Howard Street at the right 
turn. The turn in the other direction bends toward Main Street, 
and is to be taken for Melrose Highlands. Howard Street was 




originally part of the countj^ road between Stoneham and LjTin. 
For the first part it is commonplace, although good views are 
now and again disclosed on either side : but after the sidewalks 
are left, it becomes a country road with the pleasant char- 
acteristics of the old time thoroughfare, which the monotonously 
straight street so much beloved by modern town roadmakei-s lacks. 
Occasionally, we pass a farm-house with blooming front-yard 
garden ; while near-by fields with distant hills make pleasing 
pictures for us as we stroll onward. The loftiest of the hills, in 
the right distance, which keeps us company for a considerable 
part of the way, is known as Pine Hill, and is used, as the signal 
pole on its summit denotes, in State survey work. 

As we approach the end of the road we come upon a rare old 
landmark — a seventeenth-century house with overhanging second 
story, and leanto, set close to the road line. This is one of the 



44 EVERETT, MALDEN, 3IELR0SE, S AUG US. 

Boardman houses, occupying a part of the old Boardman farm, 
which was one of the earliest cultivated in this region. The house is 
said to be upward of two hundi'ed years old, built perhaps between 
1670 and 1680. Within, the old-time finish is fairly well preserved, 
the hewn oak beams showing in the ceilings of the low-studded 
rooms, and the great chimney containing the commodious oven, 
though long since closed up. In the back yard is yet foimd the 
old well sweep, but no longer in use, a slim pump taking its place. 
Beyond, across the farm way, the big barn stands invitingly open, 
and here are found the roomiest of quarters for cattle and other 
farm stock, with great hay-lofts. A httle way beyond, another 
ancient house appears, slightly more picturesque in look because 
of its setting, back from the roadway into which ours enters, and 
on a slight rise, presenting a side with the leanto to our view. 
This is another Boardman homestead, built, we are told, about two 
years after the first one. It is somewhat smaller than the first, 
but with similar interior. We find the same low-studded rooms, 
with stout oak beams protruding, the huge chimney extending 
through the middle of the dwelling, the large " living-room," the 
quaint chimney, side and corner closets, the cosy kitchen. Out- 
side, the ancient shingling remains, attached with hand-wrought 
nails ; and the rugged frame seems yet strong and durable. The 
present occupant of this rare old homestead displays its curious 
features with genuine pride, and with them shows the old spin- 
ning-wheel used by his mother, with the yarn still on it which she 
spun on the celebration of her golden wedding day years back. 
At the opening of the Revolution the house was occuiiied by 
Samuel Boardman, who hurried off to Bunker Hill with other 
minute-men of Saugus and never returned, being among the 
killed of that fateful June day. The other house was the home of 
Aaron Boardman during the Revolutionary period, and afterward 
that of his son Abijah, who lived here until his death, well into 
the present century. 

Now still following the electric railway track, we continue our 
walk southward along Main Street, in which our road from Mel- 
rose ends. Northward Main Street leads toward the sightly 
eminence called Castle Rock, between Saugus and Wakefield, and 
into a pleasant country well worth a visit. Just bej'ond our turn 
into Main Street we cross the brook coming down through the 
broad meadow on our right, which used to flow cheerily in front of 
the old house on the knoll, when the county road was further over 
to the westward. From this point on, the way is charmingly rural 
for quite a little distance. On the left we shortly reach a hand- 
some-looking estate screened from the roadway by a thick line of 



EVERETT, MALDEN, MELROSE, SAUGUS. 45 

trees, but as we turn into the inviting avenue entrance, we are 
confronted by the sign *'No trespassing" with this added cour- 
teous appeal : 

These are private grounds 

and it is hoped all persons will have 

the courtesy to avoid trespassing witliout 

further uotice. 

A request so politely worded cannot be ignored, — indeed we are 
careful in all our walks to avoid the slightest trespass on gfrounds 
not free to the public, without permission to enter, — and so we 
take again to the road. We are, however, rewarded slightly for 
our virtue further along the way, near the Forest Street corner, 
by a good view across the grounds and of the mansion-house 
within them. Tliis is an old-time country-seat, now known locally 
as the Saunders Place. Forest Street, making off to the left, 
thickly wooded on either side, is a delightful way to the wood- 
lands some distance beyond ; and leads to the Phillips Place. 

After a stroll of perhajis half a mile, we reach the old New- 
buryport Turnpike, and here make our turn to the right. 
Thence we cross over to Essex Street, and taking here the right 
turn, traverse the route followed at the finish of Walk 6, bringing 
up at the Cliftondale station, from which we return by steam car 
to Boston. The substantial old-fashioned white house which 
we pass on the turnpike, a little way below the turn from Main 
Street, and marked by the front lantern signs, ''Saugus Poor 
Farm," was once a fair mansion-house, and stiU preserves a dig- 
nified air despite its present use. This farm was originally the 
Tudor Place, and the house, now sheltering the favored poor of 
Saugus, was erected in the first year of the present century by 
William Tudor, known to the neighborhood as Judge Tudor. It 
took the place of a venerable farm-house, the homestead which 
Judge Tudor inherited from his father, John Tudor, and parts of 
the old structure were used in building the new. Frederick Tudor 
of Boston and Nahant, eminent among Boston merchants of his 
day, was a son of William Tudor. 

This walk, if not already too long, might be continued beyond 
Cliftondale to Saugus Centre, and ''Appleton's Pulpit" in the 
valley of the Saugus River, a distance of about a mile and three 
quarters. The way would take us by a number of interesting 
old houses, and bring us into the neighborhood of picturesque 
" Pranker's Pond," a basin formed in the river by the dam for 
Pranker's Mills, below which the stream courses tranquilly through 
meadows bordered by wooded slopes. Part of the distance — as far 
as Saugus Centre — can be covered by electric car, but by a round- 



46 EVERETT, 2IALDEN, MELROSE, SAtGUS. 

about course. On Essex Street, near the Cliftondale station, is 
the first of the series of old houses to which we refer. This is 
the Eustis house, considerably remodeled, originally built in 1807 
by Jacob Eustis, brother of Governor Eustis, for the Eustis fam- 
ily country residence. Beyond, on Chestnut Street, which is 
entered from Essex Street, is a quaint old house, picturesquely 
set, with an elm at the rear spreading its branches over the roof, 
and thick bushes bordering the path from the gate. This is the 
Danforth house, dating from before the Revolution. On Central 
Street, into which turn is made from Chestnut Street, is a house 
built upward of a hundred years ago, originally a road-side inn. 
But the " Iron- works house " in Saugus Centre, on Central Street, 
is the most famous of all the older houses of the section. This 
was built in 1(343, by projectors of the first iron-works successfully 
established in the country, the site of which is marked by a heap 
of slag opposite. It is a wooden house, with two stories front, a 
long leanto, and massive chimney upon which the date is marked. 
" Appleton's Pulpit" is reached through Central Street, and is 
near the corner of Appleton Street. It is a picturesque rock or 
ledge, well covered with trees growing from the crevices. It 
acquired its name from the story of its use as a rostrum by Major 
Samuel Appleton, of Ipswich, in September, 1687, at the time of 
the Andros usurpation, to stir the yeomanry to action. The tradi- 
tion runs that in " resisting the tyranny of Sir Edmund Andros," 
Major Appleton " spoke to the people in behalf of those principles 
which later were embodied in the Declaration of Independence." 
An inscribed tablet marks this pulpit. 



Middlesex Fells. 

Entrances. In Maiden : at Bear's Den Hill, reached by the Middlesex 
Fells Parkway from Pleasant Street. Nearest steam railway station, Oak 
Grove [Boston and Maine]. Electric car line by Main and Pleasant Streets, 
to the Parkway. In Melrose : at the Cascade, near the Fells station 
[Boston and Maine], and short walk from Main Street along which the electric 
car line from Boston runs ; further north, at the Ravine Road, reached by a 
half mile walk through Wyoming Avenue from the Wyoming station [Boston 
and Maine] ; and at the northeast point, from Emerson Street, a short walk 
from Melrose station [Boston and Maine]. In 3IedJ'ord : at Pine Hill, reached 
by the Fells Parkway and Forest Street from Medlord Square, through which 
the electric cars from Boston pass, and within a stone's throw of the steam 
railway station [Boston and Maine] ; or by Woodland Road reached by Fulton 
Street. In Winchester : by side streets from Washington Street, a short 
walk from the railway station. In Sloneham : from either Main or Pond 
Streets. Fares from Boston : to Maiden,^ Oak Grove station, 11 cents, by 
electric car 5 cents : to Fells station, 12 cents, by electric car 5 cents ; to 
Wyoming station, 13 cents ; to Melrose station, 14 cents ; to Medford sta- 
tion, 10 cents ; to Winchester, IG cents ; to Stoneham, 25 cents. 

Wiilk a. [No. 8.] Melrose (Fells station) to Medford, beginning at the 
Cascade Entrance, and ending on the southwest border of the reservation 
west of Pine Hill : thence across to High Street and Medford Square, from 
which return by electric or steam car. Covers the lower half from east to 
west, and southwest, and embraces the Cascade, the summit of Black Rock, 
Shilly Shally Brook side. Cairn Hill, Hemlock Pool, the groves along the 
southern border of Spot Pond, with fullest views of the pond, old Silver 
Mine, and Silver Mine Hill, and the southwestern woodlands. Distance, 
about five miles. 

Walk b. [No. 9.] Medford to Wyoming (Melrose), beginning at the Pine 
Hill Entrance (Forest Street) and extending from the extreme south of the 
reservation to the northeast side, finishing at the junction of Wyoming 
Avenue and the Ravine Road, about a half of a mile distant, by Wyoming 
Avenue, from the Wyoming station, from which return. Covers the south- 
eastern parts, and embraces Pine Hill and woodlands, the Wright's Pond 
region, the southeast corner of Spot Pond, Woodland Road, Ravine Road, 
and Virginia Wood. Distance, about four miles. 

Walk c. [No. 10.] Winchester to Melrose, beginning at the Winchester 
Entrance, and ending at the northeast corner of the reservation, within fif- 
teen minutes' walk of Melrose station, from which return. Covers northern 
part, and embraces Squaw Sachem Rock, the Tower, the Causeway and 
the borders of the Winchester Reservoirs, Bear Hill, and Cheese Rock, 
Doleful Pond, and the woody region on the northeast corner. Distance, 
about five miles. 

Walk d. [No. 11.] Maiden to Melrose Highlands, beginning at the Park- 
way, by Fellsmere, in Maiden, and extending across the eastern side of the 
Fells to the northwestern corner. Ends by Whip Hill, one mile from Melrose 
Highlands station [Boston and Maine]. Embraces Bear's Den, Boojum Rock, 
Jerry Jingle Notch, Hemlock Pool, Shiner Pool, (Langwood Property,) Vir- 
ginia Wood, (the Ravine.) Saddleback Hill, Whip Hill, and the way to Mel- 
rose Highlands. Distance, about five miles. 

The Middlesex Fells Reservation lies within the limits of Maiden, Melrose, 
Medford, Stoneham, and Winchester, and embraces the region known from 
Colonial days as "The Five Mile Woods." Its present name was adopted at 
the suggestion of Mr. Sylvester Baxter, one of the earliest advocates of its 
preservation and setting apart as a public forest park, and whose graceful 
pen was most effective in securing this result. The larger part of the terri- 
tory was acquired by the Metropolitan Park Commissioners in February, 



48 MIDDLESEX FELLS. 

1894, and by later takings the domain has been increased to its present 
dimensions of 11G3.11 acres. The holdings by the water boards of Medford, 
Maiden, Melrose and Winchester, which municipalities draw their water 
supply from its valleys (the first three named using Spot Pond), amounting 
to about 1600 acres, are also in the care of the Metropolitan Commission 
though not formally transferred to it. As described by the landscape 
architects employed by the Commissioners, the reservation consists essen- 
tially of a broad plateau thrust southward from Stoneham between the 
valleys of the Aberjona and Maiden Rivers, the sui'face of which is min- 
utely broken into many comparatively small hills, bowls, and vales. 
Bear's Den in Maiden, and Pine Hill in Medford, both less than 5J miles dis- 
tant from the State House, form the two southernmost corners of the reserva- 
tion. It includes much charming woodland, ragged cliffs, picturesque crags, 
ponds, and pools, and in its landscape are mingled many types of scenery. 
" Here is a cliff and a cascade, here a pool, pond or stream, here a surprising 
glimpse of a fragment of the ocean, or again a faint blue vision of a far 
distant mountain." The commission in charge has improved the old 
roads through the preserve and constructed new ones, opened up bridle 
paths, linked together old wood paths, and slightly defined new ones, but in 
all this work has endeavored carefully to preserve in the greatest degree its 
natural wildness. A few hitching-places for horses, and stands for bicycles 
have been provided, and more will be added ; and ultimately it is hoped 
occasional refectories will be established, for at present there is no place 
within the entire domain where lunch or refreshment of any sort — beyond 
the waters of the springs — can be obtained. A system of Metropolitan 
Parkways directly connecting the Fells with the surrounding municipalities 
is devised, and at the present time two of these are in part under construc- 
tion ; a section of the Fells Parkway connecting Bear's Den Hill and Pine 
Hill, the cityward terminus of which is ultimately to be Broadway Park, 
foot of Winter Hill, Somerville : and the Mystic Valley Pai'kway in West 
Medford and Winchester. 

Walk a. The lower Melrose Entrance, or as we call it the 
Cascade Entrance, is close by the Fells Station, near the 
Maiden bomidary line, and within ten minutes' walk of Main 
Street from Maiden, over which the electric car line out from 
Boston passes. This is a natural entrance, between two bold ele- 
vations — Black Rock (243 feet) and White Rock, of a nearly- 
equal altitude — the " Twin Sentinels," as they have been called, 
— rising abruptly above the valley on either side of the steep and 
narrow passage thick with trees ; and is to be made only by foot 
passers. The carriage approach at this point is by Washington 
Street (a thoroughfare from Maiden west of the railroad) skirting 
White Rock, the further of the "Twin Sentinels," and entering 
beyond at the top of the hill. 

If we go out by steam car we take the road just above Fells 
station west of the track, by the side of the extensive build- 
ings of the Boston Rubber Works, turn into Washington Street 
at the right, and a few rods beyond the Converse School-house, 
strike the wood paths at the left, and so enter by way of Cascade 
Rocks on Black Rock side. If we make the outward trip by 
electric car, we leave the car on Main Street at the Pine Banks 
nearly opposite the upper entrance to this beautiful park [see 
Walk No. 7] and take the street to the left, by the side of the old 



MIDDLESEX FELLS. 



49 



Lyncle house [see same walk] , which leads down to the railroad, 
and across the track to the road from Fells station. The fields on 
either side of the short way from Main Street to the railroad are 
remnants of meadows of the old Lynde farm which once spread 
the full length of this long valley. 




^•>V 



#^- 



^ -, 







The Twin Sentinels. 



Of the several entrances to the reservation this is the wildest 
and in some respects most striking. Between the slopes of the 
" Twin Sentinels " is the beautiful Cascade, or series of cas- 
cades, in which Shilly Shally Brook falls from the precipitous 
ledges above, over masses of picturesque rocks fringed with pine 
trees, and clusters of flowers and ferns ; and from the hillsides as 
we ascend vistas open through the woods, often of extreme beauty. 
The cascades are seen to the best advantage in the springtime or 
late autumn, when the hill streams are full, and the waters dash 
and bound down the rocky way ; but they are not without many, 
if gentler, charms in the drier midsummer season. We reach 
the Cascade Rocks by a path along the base and north slope of 
Black Rock, and as we approach the cliffs, bear around to the 
left, push along the foot-path in this direction a short distance, 
then turn sharply to the right, and soon, by a scramble up the 
rough natural steps in the bush-clad steep at the right, ascend to 
Black Rock tip. Here we have our first full view of the valley 
from which we entered, with Melrose town to the north of us. 
Maiden to the south, over the valley the hills on either side of 
Pine Banks, Revere and the waters beyond, and back of us the 
Fells mlderness. 

From this point our walk continues direct south, then west, 
with Shilly Shally Brook at the right of us. Then crossing the 
brook the path we follow bears northward, and then eastward, to 



50 MIDDLESEX FELLS. 

Cairn Hill (300 feet). This hill is the culmination of the largest 
area of continuously high land in the Fells, nearly a square mile in 
extent, which Professor William O. Crosby, the geologist, refers 
to in his " Notes on the Geology of the Reservations," as " a singu- 
larly well-preserved portion of the original peneplane " bordering 
the Boston Basin on every landward side ; and from its summit 
of heaped-up small stones we have an interesting view of consid- 



■A 






•nsv 




j:,i,_ ^^,^%gy 



£-# 



The Cairu. 

arable extent and variety. Leaving the Cairn on the north side, 
and threading the path bearing slightly northward, then toward 
the southwest, the next feature reached is Hemlock Pool, a beau- 
tifvil sheet of water with fringe of fine hemlocks, and deciduous 
trees all about it. This is an interesting region, especially for the 
botanist. Taking now the carriage-road striking northward, an 
eighth of a mile beyond Hemlock Pool, we round Shiner Pool 
on our left, and, bearing westward, then northwestward, come out 
on Woodland Road, the main thoroughfare between Maiden and 
Medford roads entering this side of the Fells from the south, and 
Wyoming Avenue at the north. Shiner Pool is a pretty little 
pond formed by the excavation of muck and by damming. Near 
by, to the north of this pool, are fine old white pines with tall 
shafts, and nearer Woodland Road, a grove of pines which forms 
an important element of the landscape as viewed from the south- 
ern hills. 

From Woodland Road our course is westward along the south- 
ern shore of Spot Pond under noble hemlocks and pines, to 
Forest Street, the main highway through the heart of the Fells 
between Medford and Stoneham. This fine pond-side grove is 
most attractive to picnic parties, and several distinct groups are 
often met in the long walk thi'ough it, enjojang its kindly shade 
and pleasant surroundings. One of the fairest views up the pond 



.}fIDDLESEX FELLH. ol 

is from Pickerel Rock, a short distance beyond the Medford 
Pump. Turning near the end of the pond side toward the south, 
we strike Forest Street upon a curve, and crossing the street enter 
a cart-road leading- west and southwest toward the Spring by the 
Old Silver Mine ruin. The "mine" is worth a brief visit, but 
more interesting is Silver Mine Hill, to the south, for the fine 
view to the northward which it affords. The hill is of the ridge 
separating the eastern and western north-south valleys, beginning 
at Pine Hill at the extreme south, and culminating in Bear Hill 
at the north. 







Spot Pond. 

Returning to the Spring we take the path west of the Silver 
Mine and follow it to East Dam on the South Reservoir (Win- 
chester Water Works), and thence continue directly south. On 
the east, some way below East Dam, we have "Wenepoykin Hill, 
beyond which is probably the most interesting region of limited 
extent in the Fells. This is bounded north by the hill. Straight 
Gully Brook on the south, and Intervale Brook on the west, 
and embraces Panther Cave, Cudjo's Cave, Flagg's, Owen's, and 
Quarry AValks, Wright's Pines, and Pine Hill, which are covered 
in our Walk b. Southwest of Wenepoykin Hill is an interesting 
short cut between ledges. The flora of this region is a very rich 
one. 

We leave the reservation in the neighborhood of Straight Gully 
Brook and end our walk through a long lane-like rural way, west 
of and nearly parallel with Forest Street, which brings us ulti- 
mately to High Street, from which, turning to the left, we reach 
Medford Square, and the electric cars or steam car station for the 
return trip. 



o2 MIDDLESEX EELLS. 

Walk b. The Medford Entrances are by way of Forest Street, 
one of the finest of avenues in the neighborhood of Boston [see 
Wiilk No. 14]. beginning at Medford Square where the electric 
cars from Boston torn, and "vvithin a few steps of the steam rail- 
way station, and continuing through the Fells to Stoneham ; or by 
Fulton Street, leading from Salem Street, which starts out from 
Medford Square, to Woodland Koad and the sections south and 
east of Spot Pond. We enter for our Fells walk from south to 
east, by the Forest Street way. about one mile beyond Medford 
Square, turning from the street at the left, fixst to cover Pine Hill 
(24<) feet) the southmost point of the reservation. As we near 
the Pine Hill gateway the street begins an easy ascent, narrows 
slightly, and curves gracefully to the right, becoming more rural 
as it proceeds, and its side trees more varied. We note along 
this part some noble ash and fijie sycamore trees, with the elm 
which characterizes the road from the square. Charming views 
please the eye on every side and at every turn. 

The entranc-e to the Pine Hill region, marked by the familiar 
sign-board of the reservation, is found at the second turn at the left 
beyond the curve in the street, by a lane bordered by shrubs and 
vines along the hill-side. Bearing around shortly, to the northwest, 
the path ehmbs the bill over the westerly side, to a fork where, 
taking the right turn, it strikes a narrower path which leads up to 
the summit. This is a group of rooks, the topmost long familiar 
to old Medfordians as "Lover's Eock." '"one of those register- 
surfaces," as the first historian of Medford described it, '"where 
a young gentleman, with a hammer and nail, could engrave the 
initials of two names provokingly near together." The diversified 
view which here "fills the eye with pleasure and the mind with 
thought." includes, to the south and east, a good part of " Greater 
Boston." the harbor and islands, and over the city proper the Blue 
HiUs with the observatory on the Great Blue plainly visible : to 
the westward, the h\}\9. of Arlington and Lexington ; and north 
and northwest the vast expanse of woodland embraced within the 
Fells. Below us the Mystic coursing through its broad marshes 
appears in full outline, and in the mass of cities and towns beyond, 
familiar features are clearly discerned. — the towers of the Old 
South Church and of Trinity, the State Hotise Dome, the tower- 
ing Ames and Exchange buildings above the house-tops of the 
city proper ; the Soldiers' Home in Chelsea ; Bnnker Hill Monu- 
ment; Memorial Hall, Cambridge. The finest groups of pines 
which gave the name to this eminence are along its westerly ridge 
and slox)e. The bill was once covered, the historian Brooks tells 
OS, with as dense a forest as the thin soil of its rocky surfaces 



MIDDLESEX FELLS. 53 

could sustain, but in quite early times the wood was burned off : 
and later, in 1775-76. when the American Armv was stationed in 
the neighborhood of Medford. the renewed growth was cut off. in 
part, for its supply. Afttr that the forest grew up. and in the 
forties was thick woods again, but in the early fifties the whole 
hill was denuded and, as Brooks says. "* much of its poetry lost,*' 
adding quaintly. '" the earth looks best with its beard," In later 
years the growth was again renewed. 

From Pine Hill our way lies in the northerly direction, or north 
by east, through picturesque parts of the woodlands, back to 
Forest Street, about half a mile abore the point at which we 
started, and across the street to a roadway leading around the 
lower end of Wright's Pond near by. The most direct way is 
through the bushes, regardless of p>aths. down into the valley and 
through "Wright's Pines named for EUzur Wright, of Medford. 
who did much for the establishment of the Fells about midway 
orer ; but as the chances of getting lost by this route are more 
than even, and the way by paths being far prettier, it would be 
better to foUow Quarry Path, the old road around the hill which 
skirts the west side and continues on toward Forest Street, taking 
the west side of the Pines where it becomes Owen's Walk 
(named for John Owen, hn^rateur of Cambridge, whose favorite 
walk it was . This road is reached from the north side of the 
summit by foot-paths fairly well marked bearing to the westward, 
We can follow it to the second fork beyond the Pines and there 
take the right turn, which brings us out into the street neaziy 
opposite the part of Wright's Pond region for which we are 
aJTning ; or at the first fork by the F'ines take the right path, 
which leads into the brook valley, and curves around in the direc- 
tion of the old road again, to a path connecting with and crossing 
that, from the second fork to Forest Street, The path just men- 
tioned leads westward to the lovely Flagg's Walk for Wilson 
Flagg. the naturalist '. 

The walks along Owen's Walk, through Wright's Pines, and 
along Flagg's Walk are among the lovehest and richest in any of the 
reservations of the Metropolitan district. This section. Mr. Wai^ 
ren H. Manning suggested, wotdd fittingly commemorate the ser- 
vices of those three grand old men who labored so earnestly and 
unselfishly to preserve the Fells, but who all passed away before 
the result was accomplished. Taking Owen's "Walk from the 
beginning at the southwest base of the hill, we pass the best group 
of native sugar maples, and the finest grove of beeches, in the res- 
ervation, then go by an interesting old quarry in which there is a 
fine spring, thence through a wood road OTerarehed with a great 



54 MIDDLESEX FELLS. 

varietj'^ of splendid trees, thence past a profile rock, and so into 
Flagg's "Walk, which borders a beautiful glade, also overarched 
with many fine trees, among which the yellow birch takes a con- 
spicuous place. Other varieties of trees in this enchanting region 
are the locust, red oak, black oak, elm, willow, hemlock, poplar, 
of large size and in finer specimens than are usually found. The 
region is also rich in ferns. 

Entering the Wright's Pond region, and crossing the cleared 
tract on the southeast side, our course now lies through the brush 
and small woods in a northerly then easterly direction toward 
Spot Pond. We are to follow the path, but vaguely outlined, 
over the aqueduct of the Medford Water Works, our best 
guide line being the telegraph overhead. In the wet run which 
we cross on the way note the interesting colony of swamp white 
oak, a larger number here grouped than elsewhere in the Fells. 
As the Medford Pump, on the southern cove of the pond, appears in 
sight, we turn sharply to the right into a lovely stretch of woods, 
oak and pine predominating, and shortly come out on Woodland 
Road near the old-fashioned stone mansion-houses originally built 
by the Copelands, for many years well-known confectioners in 
Boston. Along our way we get fair glimpses of the fine group 
of very large white pines and hemlocks bordering the south shore 
of the pond, which is a notable element of the landscape in the 
view, from many points. 

A short walk over Woodland Road, which here follows the 
southeast bank of the pond, with its attractive estates, brings us 
to the Langwood.Hotel grounds, on the right. Here let us pause 
a moment to enjoy the extensive view over the jDond at our left, 
and the charming surroundings of this beautifully placed wood- 
land inn. We may continue along Woodland Road to the Ravine 
Road opening from it a little way beyond the Langwood estate, 
at the right : or cross the Langwood estate to the back of the inn, 
thence enter the Ravine Road, and cross to the Virginia Wood. 

The Ravine Road extends in graceful curves from Woodland 
Road east to Wyoming Avenue, beyond the Fells line, a distance 
of about three quarters of a mile, with the Virginia Wood lying 
along its northern border. In a region of evergreen, with mag- 
nificent pines and hemlock, their branches occasionally meeting 
high above the roadway, and yet rich in sylvan scenery, it is one 
of the most delightful rural roads of the northern suburbs ; and 
before the ruthless tree-cutter had swung his devastating axe into 
its hillside groves, it was distinguished as the " grandest in the 
vicinage of Boston." The beautiful tract of the Virginia Wood, 
however, called by experts one of the best gloves of pines and 



MIDDLESEX FELLS. 55 

hemlocks near Boston, remains intact ; and its preservation for 
public uses is due to the generous act of its former owner, Mrs. 
Fanny Foster Tudor, who transferred it to the care of the Trus- 
tees of Public Reservations. The name of " Virginia" was given 
it in memory of Mrs. Tudor's daughter Virginia, Instead of 
following the Ravine Road through to Wyoming Avenue, we 
shall find it a pleasant short cross walk along Washington Street, 
taking the left turn, over to Wyoming Avenue at the junction of 
the latter with Pond Street. From the corner along Wyoming 
Avenue to the Wyoming station, whence we return to town, is 
a walk of about three quarters of a mile. 

Walk c. The Winchester Entrance is within ten minutes' 
walk of the railway station in Winchester by way of Pleasant 
Street, — the first street above at the right, across the tracks, — 
and Mt. Vernon Street, the right of the fork just beyond the 
handsome Town-hall and Library. [See Walk No. 18.] This 
is the direct way, especially for carriages ; but the walker had 
better make the approach a little higher Tip, taking Washington 
Street, the left of the fork ; following Washington to Webster 
Street, the third opening on the right ; and Webster Street, cross- 
ing Highland Avenue, to the wagon-road opposite, which bearing 
to the left leads to one of the prettiest of the entrance-paths here. 
This shall be our way. 

The path upon which we enter leaves the wagon-road at the 
right, and makes up the steep hill. Bearing to the right, and 
then to the left, we shortly come to a ledge, south of Squaw 
Sachem Rock, the first '' outlook "on the route. From this 
ledge is outspread a full view of the lovely Mystic Valley, of 
town and village, backed by hills against the distant horizon, the 
gray outline of far away Wachusett appearing to the right. 
Looking from left to right we see all of Winchester with the line 
of the Aberjona River and the ponds beyond, further toward the 
right, Woburn, and at the extreme right, Wakefield. Continu- 
ing from the ledge by the path which strikes out in a southerly 
direction, Ave shortly reach Cranberry Pool, formerly a bog-hole, 
now a serene, almost somber, piece of water bordered by small 
woodlands. It was created a few years ago by placing a dam 
across its outlet, and was called Cranberry Pool on the Commis- 
sioner's map because of the abundance of cranberries which were 
formerly found on it. At the first fork in the path beyond, we 
take the left, with the pond on our right, and following this mossy 
way, down the hill and straight ahead, we soon reach a wood 
road, into which we turn sharply to the right, continue along 
to the fork, here take the left turn, and so on to the second fork, 



56 MIDDLESEX FELLS. 

beyond wliich, to the riglit, appears the Observatory or Tower. 
Taking the left turn we soon come to a foot-path which followed 
leads to the Tower. This was for a while after the Fells had be- 
come a reservation closed to the public because unsafe : but it 
has since been strengthened and is now in satisfactory condition. 
The view from the top embraces, in the northeast and south fore- 
ground, the picturesque "Winchester Reservoirs constructed from 
ancient Turkey Swamp, once a meeting-place for many varieties 
of birds, and a favorite hunting-ground for local sportsmen : in the 
distance to the northeast, Lynn ; eastward, Boston Harbor ; south- 
east, the range of Blue Hills ; the near northwest, Horn Pond and 
Mt. Misery, Woburn ; and southward, the mass of Fells woods. 

From this point our walk continues over to the Causeway be- 
tween the Middle and South (Winchester) Reservoirs, through 
one of the loveliest of the many lovely regions of this reserva- 
tion. Taking the wood path making off in a southeasterly direc- 
tion, we enter the white and red oak woods which extend over 
quite an extent of territory. Keeping this path for about half a 
mile we come at length to the open, at the right, where the car- 
riage-roads meet, — the main road being that from the Winchester 
Entrance at Mt. Vernon Street, and the other, coming from the 
West Dam further south, there connecting with Governor 
Avenue, or Rural Lane, which leads from West Medford. Along 
the way through the oak woods, we pass Nanepashemet Hill 
(295 feet) at the right, about midway from the Tower to the open : 
and near the latter, also at the right, a path leads to a cliff which 
affords a pleasant view over the South Reservoir and the opposite 
peninsula, with the Causeway at the left. If one is thirsty, it is 
but a short distance to Molly's and Indian Springs on the car- 
riage road to the right. Molly's Spring, the nearest to the road, 
was named for Molly Connors, an elderly daughter of Erin, who 
for some time lived alone in a hut by its side and demanded tri- 
bute from those who partook of its cool waters. About and near 
Molly's Spring are fine pines, birches, and maples which are in 
themselves well worth a visit. 

From the open we follow the carriage-road to the left, over the 
Causeway, passing Basswood Shore, so called because it is one of 
the few localities in the reservation where the basswood tree grows, 
and northward for about a mile, to Bear Hill (320 feet). This is the 
highest point in the Fells, and embraces Governor Winthrop's his- 
toric Cheese Rock, distant about two miles by the carriage-road 
from Winchester station, or three miles by the way we have come. 
The road runs along the shores of the reservoirs for the greater 
part of the distance, crossing Little Neck between South and 



MIDDLESEX FELLS. 57 

Middle Reservoirs, with Old Tony's Ledge to the right, and 
Hannah Shiner's Ledge further over, thence over Great Neck 
between Middle and North Reservoirs, bearing at this point to the 
right, and then beyond North Reservoir following Dike's Brook ; 
with thick woodland and frequent heights on the opposite side. 
On the brink of Middle Reservoir near Little Neck, when this was 
Tvirkey Swamp, was the hut of Hannah Shiner, the last Indian 
who lived within the reservation. She was an herb-gatherer, 
a basket-weaver, and " a lover of rum," and lived here some 
years with " Old Tony," whom the historian Brooks called " a 
noble-souled mulatto man, ' ' and a little dog her constant compan- 
ion. Hence the name of the ledges near this spot. Between 
Little and Great Necks and about Great Neck is Spring Pas- 
ture, named after one Spring who was settled here with the 
Parkers, Hunts, Holdens, and others at a quite early date. There 
are evidences of an ancient settlement, in the old cellars and walls 
still to be seen in the neighborhood : and we are told that the old 
Provence rose clung about the Parker house-site up to within a 
few years. The carriage-road between these Necks passes along 
the old road from Stoneham to Medford, the first road in this 
region, over which great quantities of shijj-timber were in ship- 
building days teamed from the Fells to Medford ship-yards. For 
a part of its length the old road is covered by the South Reser- 
voir, but at the East Dam it again appears and runs into Rural 
Lane toward West Medford. The old road is also used along 
Dike's Brook at the north, and a piece of it is also here covered 
by the east bay in the North Reservoir. At this point a stretch 
of corduroy was dug up when the reservoir was constructed. 
This whole section is full of interest to the student of local history. 
The road branching off to the right from the triangle near by 
the Hannah Shiner's Ledge leads over to Forest Street, the main 
road cutting through the heart of the Fells between Medford and 
Stoneham, by Spot Pond. About a quarter of a mile beyond 
Great Neck, another road branches to the right, which also leads to 
Forest Street, skirting "Winthrop's Hill (formerly Taylor's Moun- 
tain), the elevation at the right of our road, on the way. Soon 
after passing this branch road. Bear Hill looms up before us, dis- 
tinguished by the State flag flying above the trees. A walk of 
about a third of a mile beyond the North Reservoir, in part 
through cultivated fields, brings us to the path up the hill. The 
ascent has been made easy by the well constructed roads, for car- 
riages, bicycles, and walkers, and on the plateau of the summit 
a good place for hitching horses has been provided by the Com- 
missioners. Li the cedar groves covering the hill top are also 
pleasant picnic grounds. 



58 



MIDDLESEX FELLS 



As we ascend the hill the prospect broadens, and as the summit 
is approached becomes iiiagnificent ; but its full glory is only to 
be seen from the top of the Observatory on the summit, the erec- 




Observatorv, Bear Hill. 



tion of which was the work of the Appalachian Mountain Club 
before the Fells as now constituted became pubUc ground. It is a 
view not unsurpassed, as some critics have observed, in east- 
ern Massachusetts, — for the country round about Boston, as we 
have seen, or shall see, in making the circuit, abounds in magnifi- 
cent views from its higher elevations. — but one to be ranked with 
the richest. Taking it in detail, with the Blue Hills at the south, 
rising over and beyond Somerville and Cambridge, as the starting 
point : we have College Hill and the group of Tufts CoUege build- 
ings to the right with South Reservoir fringed with woods seem- 
ingly just below it. and ArUngton and Arlington Heights beyond ; 
turning toward the southwest. Wellesley Hills across the reserva- 
tion with North Reservoir in the near foreground and the other 



MIDDLESEX FELLS. 59 

observatory a conspicuous object ; Winchester and the hills beyond 
to the west., \rith the pumping station of North Reservoir just over 
the pastures below us ; following further to the right. Wachusett 
in the distance ; still more to the right. Wobum. with several 
peaks in Xew Hampshire rising above the stretch of woodland, 
dotted with houses here and there over cultivated fields, in the 
foreground below ; to the north. Reading, the standpipe and 
church spires of the village of Stoneham occupying the " goodly 
plain" of Winthrop pasture, appearing in line to the northeast; 
Danvers Insane Asylum conspicuous among the hills further along 
in the circuit ; easterhj. over Doleful Pond and Melrose woodlands, 
LjTin and the open ocean beyond Xahant ; toward the southeast, 
with Spot Pond in the foreground, the Langwood Hotel on the 
opposite shore and the green mass of Virginia Wood. Maiden and 
its neighboring cities with the expanse of water beyond ; south- 
east, the twisting Mystic. Bunker Hill Monument. Boston State 
House, the Harbor, and Bay. with Boston Light plainly visible in 
clear atmosphere ; and back to our starting point, Winthrop Hill 
in the near foreground, with the splendid sweep of Fells forest. 

Cheese Rock, where Grovernor Winthrop and his little explor- 
ing party on a February day of 1632 rested and lunched, and 
which with this hill was so named by them "because when they 
went to eat somewhat they had only cheese, the Governor's man 
forgetting for haste to put up some bread." lies close to the Ob- 
servatory, north. The party had come to this hill, or, as Win- 
throp expressed it. '" to the top of a very high rock." from Spot 
Pond which they had discovered and named. — "a very great 
pond having in the midst an island of about an acre, and very 
thick with trees of pine and beach " and with "divers small rocks 
standing up here and there in it. which they therefore called Spot 
Pond " — and had gone '" all about it on the ice." They found 
the prospect fair, though not distant, for it was at that time 
"close and rainy," and the country round about was then an 
" uncouth wilderness full of timber ; " but they observed beneath 
the rock " a goodly plain," where now, as we have seen, is Stone- 
ham town, "part open land and part woody." They had come 
over from "Mistic River at Medford . . . N. and by E. among 
the rocks about two or three miles'' to the "very great pond," 
and we may fancy that they came into the Fells by Rural Lane, 
and were turned east by Turkey Swamp. The name by which 
the hill now goes, we are told. " origrinated with one of the early 
settlers who had an unpleasant meeting with a bear," on the hill 
pasture, ''when looking for his cow." Clearings were early 
made in this neighborhood, and on the south slope of the hill was 



60 



MIDDLESEX FELLS. 



probably the first house in Stonehara, built by Richard Holden in 
or about the year 1640. On this slope appear the bayberry, lamb- 
kill and privet, barberry and buckthorn, a marked example, Mr. 
Warren H. Manning observes in his " Notes on the vegetation of 
the reservations" [Commissioners' Report 1895], of the presence 
of these introduced plants on the site of old habitations. Where 




v^ ; J'^A 



Roadway, Middlesex FeUs. 

a large colony of old plants of two or more of these varieties ap- 
pears, he remarks, it is reasonably safe to assume that there was a 
settlement of some kind. About half way down the hill on the 
southwest side. Cedar Spring, delightfully situated, is a spring of 
the purest water. 

We leave Bear Hill by the northeast side and make our way 
down the picturesque paths coming out on Forest Street, or Main 
Street, Stoneham, as this thoroughfare has now become — the 
dividing line between Medford and Stoneham passing by the south 
end of Spot Pond. Taking Main Street at the left, to South 
Street, we follow the latter in the direction of Melrose, with Doleful 
Pond beyond on the left. Reaching Pond Street we may strike into 
the northeastern section of the reservation at a point a few paces 
this side of the headquarters farm opposite, by a cart road leading 
to a long stretch of rolling pasture-land made picturesque by scat- 
tering evergreens and a sparkling pool. By this way we follow 
the right side of the pasture, skirt the southern side of a swamp at 



MIDDLESEX FELLS. 61 

its northerly end till we come in sight of the boundary line of the 
reservation, then proceed for half a niile along the boundary line 
in a southeasterly direction, passing through rough woods, to a 
path making toward Emerson Street, in Melrose, where the town 
is entered within a short walk of Melrose station. Or, if Ave prefer, 
we may continue along Pond Street in a southerly then easterly 
direction, past Old Pepe's Cove (named after " Old Pepe " Gould, 
a blind man who lived with his daughter in an old house near by, 
of which only the cellar remains), through Virginia Wood to Wyo- 
ming Avenue, and thence to Wyoming station. It would be still 
more interesting to go as far south as Spot Pond Brook, the out- 
let of the Pond, on Woodland Road, which opens from Wyoming 
Avenue by Old Pepe's Cove, and walk through the heart of Vir- 
ginia Wood, along the banks of the stream past the site of the old 
mill, joining Wyoming Avenue further on, by its junction with 
Washington Street. Another portion of the Virginia Wood is 
traversed in Walk b. 

Walk d. The Maiden Entrance, by way of Fellsway East from 
Pleasant Street, is about a mile and one half from the Maiden 
station [B. & M,] ; by way of cross streets and the Boundary Road, 
about three quarters of a mile from the Oak Grove station. Three 
quarters of a mile of the distance from the Maiden station is the 
stretch of Pleasant Street between the station and Fellsway East, 
which may be covered by electric car (Medford line going west). 
Pleasant Street is the thoroughfare crossing the track a few rods 
south of the station. If it is not cared to take the full length of 
Fellsway East from the Pleasant Street junction a cross cut may 
be made through Summer Street (north of the station) and Maple 
Street from the left of Summer, to a point just above Fellsmere 
Park. But by this way a pleasant section will be missed : and the 
distance is not materially shortened. Fellsmere is a local Maiden 
park notable for its woods, landscape features, and lakelet. 

Fellsway East passes on the right side of Fellsmere, fringed by 
noble trees, cuts through rocky ledges, and sweeps onward in broad 
curves opening picturesque vistas. About three quarters of a mile 
out from Pleasant Street it crosses Highland Avenue, which leads 
to the left in the direction of the southern Spot Pond region. 
Next it joins the Fells Boundary Road, and, crossing, finishes 
in Jerry Jingle Notch, From this entrance point the now well 
known features of this section of the Fells — Bear's Den, Boojura 
Rock, and Pinnacle Rock — are within "easy reach, the first two 
at the left, or west of the notch road, bemg nearest, and the latter 
more distant, to the east. 

The Bear's Den path opens just beyond the notch road entrance. 



62 MIDDLESEX FELLS. 

near the granite bound-post, marking the line between Maiden and 
Melrose which we see tlirough the trees on the hill-slope. Instead 
of entering this path at once, we proceed a little further along the 
winding road, noting the rich growths in the dell, on the right side, 
and then plunge into the woods at the left toward the cliff back 
from the road, beyond which is Boojum Rock. There is a path 
here, but it is slightly defined : still, whether we keep to it or 
not, we cannot go far astray, for the cliff is in plain sight among 
the trees. Scrambling to the top of it we have a pretty view south- 
ward, through the tree openings, of Boston and the background of 
Blue Hills, while immediately below, in the foreground, the wind- 
ing line of the parkway through which we have come is dis- 
closed. But this view is not to be compared with the prospect from 
the higher cliff of Boojum Rock, a stone's throw to the westward. 
The way across is a little rough and pathless, but by winding along 
the rocky slope, and in a roundabout course through bush and 
tangled undergrowth, we may make it comfortably. The mount of 
Boojum Rock is easiest made along the southwest side. A sharp 
scramble up brings us to a fairly smooth summit and a fine vantage 
ground for the view. Facing south, as f i-om the lower rock, we have 
as before, over the Mystic marshes, but in fuller sweep, Boston 
with the full line of Blue Hills on the horizon : following to the 
right, from south to west, Parker Hill, in the Roxbury district, 
Corey Hill, the hills of Brighton and Brookline, College Hill, 
more in the foreground, with the chapel tower and the college 
buildings in fine relief, Watertown and Belmont Hills, Arlington 
Heights, beyond, and slightly to the left of the Heights, the dome- 
like mound of Prospect Hill, in Waltham : west, the stretch of 
Fells woods toward the Winchester side : northerly, a mass of 
woods shutting off the distant view : easterly, the thickly built 
village of Wyoming in a frame of trees ; to the right of the Button 
observatory, Nahant and the ocean : northeasterly, Orient Heights, 
Winthrop, and Boston Harbor. 

We strike down on the south side of the rock, and a few minutes 
bring us in sight of the Bear's Den path from the notch road, run- 
ning along the hill-slope below. Now joining this path we swing 
round toward the front of Bear's Den, getting a good view up the 
hill of the picturesque cliff, or series of rocks piled upon each other, 
with the crevice at its base marking the opening of the Den. The 
well beaten path bends round to the northwest, next passing the 
front of Boojum Rock, and we follow it to this point, here taking 
the path to the left, which is ultimately to be broadened into the 
Boundary Road. We have now a pleasant walk before us through 
the " fire guard." an open, which the engineers of the park com- 



MIDDLESEX FELLS. G3 

niissioners have cut out to cheek the spread of wood fires. It is a 
region of luxuriant undergrowth and bush, with fair woods on 
either side. We proceed along the path, now broad and well worn, 
now narrowing through bush and shrub, with mossy turf, to the 
first fork where we take the right turn, the left making a loop 
toward Highland Avenue. Passing through an opening in a stone 
wall our winding path enters the woods and gradually ascends 
higher ground. At the first fork we keep to the right (the left 
path goes westerly over toward Interval Brook). Hereabouts 
the trees are exceptionally fine : at the fork a noble specimen of 
the yellow birch, and, in neighboring groups, the red maple and 
the red oak. 

We are now tending toward Hemlock Pool. Through the 
woods to our left runs a valley brook. Our path goes on up and 
down, bearing to the left at the next fork, alongside of masses of 
fruitful huckleberry and blackberry bushes. We reach the pleasant 
pool on its southwestern side, and tarry here a moment in enjoy- 
ment of the sylvan scenery in which it is set. Following our path 
a little way further, we emerge upon the roadway. We have 
covered to this point about half a mile from Bear's Den. Now we 
keep to the picturesque road, northward, until we come to the 
bend by Shiner Fool, an eighth of a mile or so beyond, on the 
left, where we leave the road and strike into the broad wood path 
opening at the right, opposite the pool. This path leads through 
another pleasant region toward the Langwood Hotel estate. As 
we approach the hotel grounds, we turn to the right, cross the 
open field, and enter the picnic grove on the further side, through 
which, bearing to the left, we reach the cart road running across 
these grounds. In the extended view to the right of the cart road 
we see in the distance the Danvers Hospital appearing like a line 
of toy houses. A few minutes' walk brings us to the end of this 
road, where we bear ninety degrees to the left and then shortly 
the same distance to the right. Passing the stable in the rear 
of the hotel we continue in the same direction down a foot-path 
to a junction in the road. 

To the right the Ravine Road leads through the famous drive 
l)etween stately evergreens to Wyoming Avenue and Wyoming. A 
bridle path also leads from this junction into the Virginia Wood, 
which, followed, woijld take us through to the old Mill site. But 
our pleasant pilgrimage is toward the northwest, and we accord- 
ingly take the right fork of the road. This brings us shortly into 
Woodland Road just above the Maiden puraping-station. We may 
well linger here a bit and feast our eyes on the beauty of Spot 
Pond as it stretches to the west and south with gentle grassy mead- 



64 MIDDLESEX FELLS. 

ows and abrupt wooded slopes rising beyond. We have turned 
to the right and are now on Woodland Road with the pond on our 
left. Soon we reach the junction of Woodland Road and Pond 
Street. Here at the head of Old Pepe's Cove was in years past 
the headquarters for boating on the pond, a popular pastime until 
the water board issued its mandate against it. And now, the Spot 
Pond Spa, which survived the decrease of boating, and, with dance- 
hall attachment, furnished a wayside resting-place for wheelmen, 
has also succumbed to State authority and faded away. This 
junction is one mile from Wyoming, and, by the paths which we 
have followed, about three quarters of a mile from Hemlock Pool. 
Down Pond Street there is a delightful short walk to a spring in an 
attractive dell surrounded by fine specimens of white pine, which 
completely shut out the sun's rays. Suppose we take it as a " by- 
walk." The trail is along Pond Street a few hundred yards toward 
Wyoming and then over a cart path opening at the left direct to 
the spring, hardly an eighth of a mile distant. Returning to the 
junction we now take a foot-path leading up through the trees, on 
the north of Pond Street. A short scramble brings us to a higher 
level. Following the path around to the left, alongside of a fine 
growth of young hickory on the right, then, just before reaching 
a broader path, turning to the left and breaking through the under- 
brush, we come out upon a ledge where we are rewarded with a 
prospect of much beauty. As a point of view of Spot Pond this has 
scarcely an equal, for though we are high above the surface of the 
water we seem quite near to it, and can follow its numerous bays 
and inlets with the spectacle of the hills beyond. This ledge can 
be reached direct from Pond Street below. 

Going back to the point at which we left the path, we take the 
right hand turn at the fork which winds through a scattering 
growth of young trees and bushes. We pass two branch paths on 
the right, and then proceed onward through the sag between 
Wamoset Hill and "Whip Hill. On our right is a dense tliicket 
of undergrowth, the successor of heavy growth which was cut off 
a few years ago. Just before we reach the northerly end of the 
sag we come to a four-corner junction of paths. To climb Whip 
Hill we must take the path leading back to the westward. It is 
less than a quarter of a mile by this way to the top of the hill. 
The last half of the distance must be traversed without path and 
through thick growth until the ledge of the summit is attained. 
The interest of the view centres mostly in the wilderness of the 
surrounding woods. This is an unfrequented retreat, and by a de- 
scent of the steep face of the rock to the southward one may plunge 
suddenly into as wild a thicket of undisturbed brush and bramble 
as the most ardent lover of nature could desire. 



MIDDLESEX FELLS. 65 

Back to the f our-tined fork we bear off to the right and follow 
the boundary of the reservation for a little way to another cross 
path which, bearing to the left, leads outside the Fells. At this 
point we are over half a mile from Woodland Road by Spot Pond 
where we lingered, and nearly a mile from Melrose Highlands, the 
end of our walk. Taking the right fork a little way beyond the 
cross path, we follow the path leading in the same direction to Per- 
kins Street which (to the left) leads to the electric cars, connecting 
with Boston lines, a short half mile off. To reach Melrose High- 
lands we take the first turn from Perkins Street on the right, 
follow the latter road to Franklin Street, and thence to the Melrose- 
Highlands station. 



Charlestown and Somerville. 

Scollay Square to the Navy Yard, by electric car, 1| miles ; fare, 5 cents. 
Charlestown Neck to Davis Square, Somerville, 3 miles ; fare, 5 ceuts. 

Walk a [No. 12]. Embraces the Navy Yard, Bunker Hill Monument 
grounds, the old graveyard with the John Harvard monument, and Charles- 
town Heights. 

Walk b [No. 13]. In Somerville ; includes a tour over Prospect Hill ; Cen- 
tral Hill : site of the "French Redoubt" of 1775; headquarters of General 
Lee ; West Somerville ; Nathan Tufts Park and the Old Powder House ; 
Tufts College grounds and a willow lane. 

Charlestown was settled in 1629 by men from Endicott's colony at Salem. 
As to the exact date of settlement authorities differ, but Frothingham, the 
liistorian of Charlestown, fixes it at July 4, 1G29. The first white settler was 
Thomas Walford, blacksmith, one of the Robert Gorges colonists, here per- 
haps as early as 1623. Tlie regular settlement was begun by Thomas Greaves 
and the Rev. Francis Briglit with a small company. A few months before, 
the brothers Ralph, Richard, and William Sprague, on an expedition from 
Salem, had "lighted on a place situate and lyelng to the north side of the 
Charles River," by the natives called " Mishawum," which is presumed to 
have been this place, and they agreed, with the approbation of Endicott, that 
it should "henceforth, from the name of the river, be called Charles Town." 
Tlie settlement was hastened by Endicott under instructions from the Massa- 
chusetts Company in England " the better to strengthen our possession there 
against all or any that shall intrude upon us," conflicts having arisen over 
rights in the region through too free giving of grants by the English compa- 
nies. Winthrop's company coming in 1G30 first selected Charlestown for the 
chief place of settlement, but after a season of much suffering the dispersion 
of the colonists took place, the larger number moving across tlie river and 
founding Boston. Charlestown originally embraced a far-reaching territory, 
including what are now the cities of Maiden, Everett, Woburn, and Som- 
erville, the towns of Melrose, Reading, Wakefield, Stoncham, Burlington, 
Winchester, and parts of Medford, Arlington, Cambridge, and Lexington. 
At the time of the Revolution it retained of this outlying territory only 
what is now Somerville. When it became a city [1847] it had lost this 
part also. It now contains but 586 acres. It was annexed to Boston in 
1872, and then became the Charlestown District. In the burning of the town 
during the Battle of Bunker Hill nearlj- all of its four hundred houses and 
buildings were destroyed. The Navy Yard was established here in 1800. 
Bunker Hill monument was begun in 1825, and completed in 1842. On the 
occasion of the laying of the corner-stone, when Lafayette assisted, and again 
at the dedication of the finished work, Webster was the orator. In the 
ancient burylng-ground is the monument in memory of John Harvard, for 
whom Harvard College was named. Of the distinguished natives of the town 
was Samuel F. B. Morse, the Inventor of the magneto-electric telegraph, son of 
the equally distinguished Rev. Jededlah Morse, minister of tlie First Church, 
who has been called the " father of American geography." Time was when 
Charlestown was an important town, with "large and elegant buildings;" 
but since annexation to Boston it has lost, with its individuality, most of its 
"elegance," and its attractions, certainly to strangers, are now mostly con- 
fined to its historic features. It yet, however, retains a number of comforta- 
ble estates occui>ied by old families identified with the earlier town-life, a few 
pleasant tree-bordered streets, and here and there a landmark of passing 
interest. 

Somerville was set off from Charlestown and made an independent town 
March 3, 1842. It then had a population of about 1000, and was a pleasant 
rural place largelj' of milk and general farms. It was made a city in 1872, 
when its inhabitants numbered 16,000, taking rank as one of the largest of 
the suburban municipalities. Witliln its limits are Prospect and Winter Hills 
which the Americans fortified at the beginning of the Revolution, the Ten 



CHARLESTOWN AND SOMERVILLE. 67 

Hills Farm of Governor Winthrop [see Walk No. 14], and the Old Powder 
House, earlier a windmill, dating from about 1700 ; and on its northern border 
are the grounds of Tufts College. It covers four .square miles of territory. 
The name of Sonierville has no special significance. It was first proposed to 
call the town Warren for General Joseph Warren, or Walford for the first 
white settler in Charlestown, but Sonierville seemed to please the fancy of 
the town-makers and so was selected. The city is divided into a number of 
sections — East Somerville, Union Square, Prospect Hill, Central Hill, Spring 
Hill, Clarendon Hill, West Somerville, Winter Hill, North Somerville, and 
College Hill. It is traversed by four railroads with numerous stations, and 
half a dozen electric lines, the most direct to the central parts of the city 
being by way of Cambridgepoi't, or East Cambridge. 

Walk a. We leave the car in Charlestown at or near Wapping- 
kStreet, two or three short blocks beyond Citj^ Square, and visit 
fii\st the Navy Yard, that being, of the several Charlestown sights, 
the nearest to the city proper. City Square and the slopes of 
Town Hill rising back of the Puljlic Library building (formerly 
the City Hall), on the left side, were the parts occupied by the first 
settlers. Here was the palisaded house of Walford, the pioneer 
settler, perhaps at about the point where Main Street starts out 
from the square. On the site of the Public Librarj' building was the 
" Great House " built for Governor Winthrop in which the Court 
of Assistants met on September 17 (or 7 0. S.), 1630, and ordered 
" that Trimontaine shalbe called Boston ; Mattapan, Dorchester ; 
and ye towne upon Charles Ryuer, Waterton." On the summit of 
Town Hill was the fort with " pallisadoes and flankers," built in 
1629, which stood for half a century or more. Near by, at the 
head of the present Henley Street, was the first meeting-house set 
up in 1636, for the First Parish organized in 1632, the site now 
covered by the Harvard Street Church, built in 1834. On the 
easterly slope was the " Great Oak " under which the First 
Church, which became the First Church of Boston, was organized, 
in 1630. Near the foot toward the square was the first burjang- 
ground, all traces of which were long ago obliterated ; here the 
young minister John Harvard \vas probably biti'ied. A few inter- 
esting old houses are still found in this quarter. The house on 
Harvard Street, third from the square, left side, Avas occupied by 
Edward Everett while he was governor of the Commonwealth, 
1836-40. 

The Navy Yard covers Moulton's Point, where the British 
troops landed for the battle of Bunker Hill. The yard is open 
daily between sunrise and sunset, and visitors are freely admitted, 
passes being obtained for the asking (apply at the office at the 
Wapping Street gate). Its massive granite Avails on the land sides 
inclose ninety-one acres, with a Avater frontage of a mile and 
three qura-ters, the original area of twenty-five acres having been 
increased from time to time by additional piu'chases and the 



68 CHARLESTOWN AND SOMERVILLE. 

filling of marshes and flats. Entering by the lower of two broad 
avenues which run parallel across the yard, and once beyond 
the sombre fortress-like entrance we are in a place of pleasant 
aspect. Handsome trees, many of them almost as old as the 
yard itself, shade the walk ; on the left is the wide green park 
with lines of pyramids of shot, rows of cannon, and old-time 
mounted guns ; and across the park, the upper avenue, along 
which are the commandant's house setting back from an old- 
fashioned garden, the commandant's office, the marine barracks by 
a parade-ground, with other early nineteenth-century buildings. 
Paths at regular intervals through the park connect the avenues, 
the stateliest one leading to the commandant's quai'ters. The 
granite rope-walk, 1630 feet long (built in 1836, enlarged 1856), is 
one of the luost interesting of the older buildings in this quarter. 
But the dry dock, at the right of the lower avenue, is the most 
popular feature of the yard. This dock was six years in building, 
1827-33, under the direction of the eminent engineer, Loammi 
Baldwin, 2d, of Woburn (sou of Colonel Loammi Baldwin, distin- 
guished in the Revolution), Avho also built the dry dock of the 
Norfolk yard. Its walls are of hammei'ed granite, and the floor 
of oak rests uiDon thickly i^lanted piles. It measured originally 
three hundred and five feet in length, eighty-six feet in width, and 
thirty feet in depth ; and in 1857 was extended by the addition 
of sixty-five feet. The granite head-house was built in 1832. The 
first man-of-war docked here was the frigate "Constitution," — 
"Old Ironsides," — on the 24th of June, 1833, and the event 
was celebrated with much ceremony. "Commodore Hull," says 
Drake, "appeared once more on the deck of his old ship, and 
superintended her entrance within the dock. The gallant old 
sailor moved about the deck with his head bare, and exhibited as 
much animation as he would have done in battle. The Vice-Pres- 
ident, Mr. Van Buren, the Secretary of War, Mr. Cass, Mr. 
Southard, and other distinguished guests graced the occasion by 
their presence, while the officers at the station were required to 
be present in full uniform." The receiving ship " Wabash," 
moored near the battery, in the immediate neighborhood of the 
dry dock, might next be visited. It is open to the public under 
certain slight restinctions, and the officer of the day courteously 
assigns a sailor guide to visitors who express a desire to be shown 
over it. No fees are exacted for this service, — indeed fees are 
frowned upon by the ship's officers, — but Jack Tar expects a trifle, 
and ought to have it, for he is most obliging. Other features of 
the yard, several of which, however, are closed to visitors, are the 
great machine-shops, ship-houses, store-houses, the magazine and 



CHARLESTOWN AND SOMERVILLE. 69 

arsenal, building- ways, and the Naval Museum. The lower ship- 
house marks the site of the lauding of General Howe's troops. 

The tour of the yard should end with the visit to the Naval 
Museum, which occupies the second story of the oldest of all the 
buildings in the inclosure (built in 1803), near the main gate at 
which we entered. The unique collection here was begun in ISi.) 
with the founding of the Naval Library and Institute. 

"Work of one sort and another is constantly going on in this Navy Yard, but 
in these days it has a dull air compared with its appearance in the Civil War 
period, during wliich six thousand men were here employed, or in the earlier 
wooden ship-building times when famous men-of-war were launched from 
it. The list of vessels here constructed is brilliant with the names of the 
"Frolic;" the "Independence," the first seventy-four of the NaA'y ; the 
"Boston;" the "Warren;" the "Falmouth;" the "Cumberland;" the 
"Vermont;" the "Merrimac," the first screw steam frigate of the Navy; 
the "Hartford," afterward the flagship of Farragut ; the " Narragausett ; " 
and, during the Civil War, the " Marblehead," the " Sagamore," the " Gene- 
see," the " Monadnock," and the "Guerriere." 

From the Navy Yard to Bunker Hill Monument and Breed's 
Hill, by way of Wapping, Henley, and Park streets, Winthrop 
Square, and Chestnut Street, is a walk of about ten minutes. 
"Winthrop Square was the Colonial training-field and has been a 
Common since the early days of the settlement. The soldiers' 
monument here is the work of Martin Milmore, and was placed 
in 1S72. The central figure is the " Genius of America " repre- 
sented as in the act of crowning with laurel the Union soldier and 
sailor on either side. The memorial tablets near by, bearing the 
names of the Americans who fell in the Battle of Bunker Hill, 
were placed in 1889 and dedicated on the 17th of June that year. 
The late John Boyle O'Reilly, the Irish poet, lived for many 
years at No. 34 Winthrop Street, on this square. By Chestnut 
Street we approach Monument Square and the Monument grounds 
on the southeast side. 

The gracefully tajiering obelisk measures thirty feet square at 
its base, and rises to the apex two hundred and twenty feet. It is 
customary to say that it stands in the middle of the old redoubt, 
and that the lines of the base are parallel to the sides of the forti- 
fication. But this is not quite correct. It actually covers only 
the southeast corner. It was supposed when built to be on the 
exact lines, and the deviation was due to following an imperfect 
map. 

The redoubt was eight rods square with some angular formations for en- 
trance on the southerly side, which was nearly jjarallel with the street. The 
embankment of about four Innidred feet, called a breastwork, extended down 
the slope of the hill toward the Mystic. The stone wall and " rail fence," 
behind which the forces of Stark, Reed, and Knowlton poured their hot 
fire on the enemy and covered the final retreat of Prescott, was in a general 
way an extension of the breastwork toward the shore of the river, and was 



70 



CHARLESTOWN AND SOMERVILLE. 



designed to prevent the enemy from outflanking the force in the redoubt. 
This extension work was in part where the cemetery near Ehu Street, four 
blocks north of the Monument Grounds, now is. It was about nine hundred 
feet long and composed chiefly of parts of two rail fences placed together 
with hay filled in between them, that part nearest the river being filled in 
with rocks and stones from the beach. These various works, hastily thrown 
up in a night and half-day, were mostly effaced after the British obtained 
possessioia of the hill, when their engineers planned fortifications of some 
magnitude in place of them. 




Bunker Hill IMonument. 



The spot where Warren fell was not where the memorial stone 
is fixed on the path-edge near the monument, hut further north, 
now covered hy the Methodist Church at the head of Pleasant 
Street. The Tuscan pillar of brick and wood erected in Warren's 
memory in 1794 — the model of which is now within the monvi- 
ment — stood here before the church was built. The spot where 
Prescott stood at the opening- of the fight is correctly marked by 
the Prescott statue in the main path, which faces, however, in 
the opposite direction, presenting his back instead of his front to 
the enemy. This is an excellent portrait statue and the costume 



CHARLESTOWX AND SOMERVILLE. 71 

is exact as well as picturesque. The fight preceding was very hot, 
and the commander, who had worked side by side with his men, 
had thrown off his heavy outside unifoi'm and i)ut on a long loose 
''seersucker*' and a broad-brimmed farmer's hat, and in this 
easy dress entered the contest. The pose of the figure is spirited 
and dramatic. The sculptor has chosen the moment when the 
words of warning were uttered: "Don't fire till I tell you! 
Don't fire till you see the Avhites of their eyes ! " The body seems 
vibrant with emotion, the eyes gaze eagerly on the close ajiproach- 
ing foe, the left hand is thrown back (in a repressing motion) as if 
restraining his impatient men, and the right grasps nervously the 
unsheathed sword ready to be raised as the signal for action. The 
statue, of bronze, cast in Rome, is one of the best of William W. 
Story's works. It is nine feet in height, and raised on a pedestal 
of Jonesboi'ough granite seven feet high, the base of which is 
Quincy granite. It has but a single inscription ; the words on the 
front panel: " Colonel William Prescott. June 17, 1775." It was 
placed by the Bunker Hill Monument Association, the custodian 
of the grounds, in 1881, and was dedicated on the 17th of June 
that year. Robert C. Winthrop was the orator of the occasion. 

It is every visitor's duty, and possibly pleasure, to ascend the 
monument by the spiral flight of stone steps — two hundred and 
ninetj'-five of them — winding round the hollow cone inside to 
the observatory at the top. This is seventeen feet high and 
eleven feet in diameter, and the windows on either side command 
a truly magnificent view of great extent. Either before or after 
the ascent the museum in the lodge at tlie base should be visited. 
It contains various memorials of the battle, an excellent statue 
of General Warren, in marble, executed by Henry Dexter in 
1857, and a model of the first monument. 

The Bunker Hill Monument was designed in part by, and built under the 
superintendence of Solomon Willard, the architect (in conjunction with 
Alexander Parris) of St. Paul's Church and of the old Court House, Court 
Square, Boston. In response to the proposal for designs for the obelisk, 
Horatio Greenough sent in a model in wood which was selected by the 
committee, although the prize offered by them to the successful com- 
petitor was never bestowed upon him. [Tuckerman's Life of Greenough.] 
Greenough's biographer adds, ''The ulterior arrangement of the work was 
planned by another, but the form, proportions, and style of the monument 
were adopted from Greenouglrs model, and the simple, majestic, and noble 
structure ... is thus indissolubly associated with his name."' It is con- 
structed of Quincy granite, from a quarry which is still pointed out in Quincy 
as the old "Bunker Hill Quarry;"' .and to which the first railroad con- 
structed in New England was built. The monument was seventeen years in 
building and was finally completed largely through the patriotic exertions of 
women in Massachusetts. Tlie last stone of the apex was raised on July 23, 
184'2, the event being announced by the firing of cannon. Edward Carnes, Jr., 
rode up on the stone to the top, waving an American flag. For some time after 
the completion of the monument, the elevator used in hoisting the stones was 



72 CHARLESTOWN AND SOMERYILLE. 

employed iu carrying venturesome sightseers to the top, at a fee of a quarter 
of a dollar a head. The formal dedication occurred on the 17th of June, 
1843. Tlie occasion was a memorable one. President John Tyler with the 
members of his cabinet were among the men of distinction present, and Mr. 
Webster, the orator, " was himself that day. His apostrophe to the gigantic 
shaft was as grand and noble as the subject was lofty and sublime. Waving 
his hand toward the towering structure he said, ' the powerful speaker stands 
motionless before us.' He was himself deeply moved. The sight of such an 
immense sea of upturned faces — he had never before addressed such a multi- 
tude — he afterward spoke of as awful and oppressive. The applause from a 
hundred thousand throats surged in great waves around the orator, com- 
pleting in his mind the parallel of Old Ocean." 

We leave the Monument Grounds by the main path, walk up 
High Street a short distance, take Green Street at the left and 
descend the hill to Main Street, follow Main Street to Phipps 
Street, at the left, and thence reach the ancient burying-ground. 
At the turn into Main Street from Green Street, we pass the 
Harvard Church (Unitarian) which covers the site of " Wood's 
bake-shop," where the fire kindled by Burgoyne's hot shot from 
the Boston side during the fight on the hill was arrested, and 
which was subseqitently used through the British occupation as the 
commissaiy's office. About a block above, on the opposite side of 
Main Street, we may get a slender notion of the first dwelling built 
after this "burning," but most distinguished as the birthplace, 
sixteen years later, of Samuel Finley Breese Morse, the inventor of 
the electric telegraph, in the remnant of the Edes house. This 
was originally a large three-story mansion-house built by David 
Wood, on the site of his former dwelling destroyed in the "burn- 
ing," and remained in the possession of his descendants for nearly 
a century. 

This house was known as the Edes house from the time of Thomas Edes, 
who married a daughter of David Wood. The estate had been in the Wood 
family since 1G76. Morse was born in the front chamber of the second story 
at the right of the front door entrance (then on Main Street), from a porch 
opening directly upon the sidewalk. At the time, his parents, the Rev. 
Jedediah and Madam Morse, were guests of Thomas Edes, a parishioner and 
near friend of tlie minister, while a new parsonage was building by the 
church, the old First Parish, on Town Hill. 

The ancient graveyard is closed to the general public, but the 
gate key may be obtained by any visitor \ipon application at the 
apothecary shop on the Main Street corner. This is a much more 
picturesque spot than the unlovely, almost squalid, surroundings 
would indicate. It occujiies a knoll originally on the margin of a 
bay in the west bank of the Charles River, now filled in, and is 
crowded with tombs and graves well shaded hj aged trees. 
Although the first reference to it in the town records is f oimd under 
date of 1648, the oldest slab is marked 1642. This bears the name 
of Maud Russell, wife of William Russell. The Harvard monu- 
ment, a granite shaft, four feet square at the base and fifteen feet 



CHARLESTOWN AND SOMERVILLE. 



73 



high, occupies the liighest point in the inclosiire, and is the most 

conspicuous object here. It dates from 1828, when it was erected 

by alumni of the University with fitting ceremony, President 

Walker, at that time pastor of the Unitarian church in 

Charlestown, making- a prayer, and Edward Everett delivering an 

oration. The inscriiitions, now almost entirely obliterated, are in 

these words : — 

(On the eastern face.) On the twenty-sixth day of September, A. D. 1828, 
this stone was erected by tlie graduates of the Uuiversit3' at Cambridge in 
honor of its founder, who died at Charlestown on the twenty-sixth day of 
September, A. D. 1G38. 

(Western face. In Latin.) That one who merits so much from our literary 
men should no longer be without a monument, however humble, the graduates 
of the University of Cambridge, New England, have erected this stone nearly 
two hundred years after his death, in pious and perpetual remembrance of 
John Harvard. 




The Harvard Monument. 



Near the Harvard Monument is the tomb of the ministers of the 
First Parish. In some of the slabs on the brick tombs which line 
the outside path around the ground family arros are ciit. 



74 CHARLESTOWN AND SOMERVILLE. 

The walk from the old graveyard to Charlestown Heights, as 
the park on Bunker Hill is called, is not an interesting one, and we 
might cover this distance hy car. If we ride, we should leave the 
car at Mead Street, and ascend the hill at the right. Charlestown 
Heights embraces four acres of highland and of flats on the river 
front below, and is laid out with much skill and taste in circling 
paths around the broad green which spreads out from the pictur- 
esque " Shelter" near the entrance. The view from the "ram- 
parts " to the east, north, and west, includes a sweep of suburban 
cities and towns, with the line of the Middlesex Fells in the dis- 
tance, and the placid Mystic, twisting through the marshes, in the 
foreground. The view further east and to the south, more urban 
and in its way quite as interesting, is to be obtained from the old 
Catholic burying-ground, near by, occupying the highest point of 
the hill, by the side of the Catholic church. This church, by the 
way, a massive structure of blue stone, the tall spire of which, 
reaching one hundred and eighty feet above the hill, is a land- 
mark for miles around, occujiies the site of the redoubt which the 
British built after the occupation, over the rude fortifications 
thrown up by Putnam at the time of the battle. The church was 
built in 1860-62 and dedicated to St. Francis de Sales. 

Walk h. Returning to Main Street we may now take our car for 
Somerville, — a ear marked Highland Avenue. Other Somerville 
ears turn into Cambridge Street by Jackson Park, at the left, and 
proceed to Union Square, and others continue from Charlestown 
Neck to the top of Winter Hill. Somerville, once an extremely 
pretty rural town, with country roadways, and lanes on its hill- 
slopes, sometimes lined with barberry-bushes and generally with 
trees, is now a great suburban residential citj^ thick with houses, 
detached and in blocks, with city ways and airs. Although it has 
numerous historic spots, which thoughtful folk have marked with 
tablets, its attractions to the visitor in search of landmarks are few, 
since its most noteworthy ones, which once gave it a special interest, 
have been swept away for house-lots and streets. It still possesses, 
however, one of the most i^icturesque of ancient structures, in the 
Old Mill, or Powder House, especially interesting as the place 
against which the first hostile demonstrations of Gage were made. 
Being a city built on several hills, Somerville is in the enjoyment 
of extended views in various directions, and in lieu of landmarks 
these are among the features which most invite the visitor. 

The car proceeds from Main Street in Charlestown where we 
board it, over " the Neck," and along Broadway [see Walk No. 
14] to Cross Street at the left, through Cross Street to Medford 



CHARLESTOWN AND SOMERVILLE. 75 

Street, thence by Higlilancl Avenue over Central Hill, to Davis 
Square, West Sonierville. 

At the left of Medford Street is the remnant of the long, broad, 
easterly summit of Prospect Hill (of which Central Hill is, strictly 
speaking, a part). Of the several historic eminences in this region 
it has an interest second only to that of Breed's Hill, and ought 
to have been preserved as a public reservation. For on this si;mmit 
Putnam fixed his quarters after the retreat from Breed's Hill : 
here was built the " Citadel," with its outworks, one of the most 
important parts of the American investments, of which General 
Nathaniel Green was subsequently put in command : here, a month 
after the Breed's Hill battle (on the IStli of July), Putnam raised 
his Connecticut flag, with its motto " An Appeal to Heaven," and 
in January following the Union flag of the Confederated Colonies 
was first hoisted with a salute of thirteen guns. Then, later on, 
during the winter of 1777-78, in the barracks which spread over 
the hill-top, were quartered the English portion of Burgoyne's 
array taken at Saratoga. These facts are in part rehearsed on the 
tablet Avliieh stands, twenty or thirty feet below the original height 
of the summit, at the head of Prospect Hill Avenue, the street 
starting toward the hill from Central Square, at the junction of 
Cross and Medford Streets. The inscription reads : — 

On this hill 

The Union flag with its thirteen stripes 

the emblem of the 

United Colonies, 

first bade defiance to an enemy 

Jan. 1, 1776. 



Here was the Citadel 

The most formidable works in the 

American lines 

during the Siege of Boston 

June 17, 1775, to March 17, 1776. 

On the southerly slope of the hill, toward Washington Street, 
(the ancient "Milk Row"), at a point opposite Rossmore Street, 
another tablet recoi-ds that, " On this hillside James Miller. Minute 
man, aged sixty-five, was slain by the British, April 19, 1775. — 
' I am too old to run.' " 

Some of the hottest fighting below North Cambridge on the British rout 
of that day was along this part of Milk Row, and Miller, with another minute- 
man, was taking an active part in it, firing from behind a stone wall, when 
the two were attacked by a flanking part}'. His companion urged him to 
escape, but, with the remark quoted on the tablet, he continued firing at the 
approaching foe " until he fell pierced by thirteen buUets." 

On Central Hill, over which our car runs, are the city build- 
ings, — the High School, the English High School (built in 1895), the 



76 



CHARLESTOWN AND SOMERVILLE. 



Pviblie Library (1884), and the City Hall (the old Town House), — 
v/ell set, with agreeable surroundings, and beside the public park 
occupying the highest point of the summit and extending over its 
steep northern sloi^es. The miniature fortress near the middle of 




■■■' - ■ ■ - •■ -■' ^■.■;.•''•"^';.■^/^^^t-^ 

Central Hill. 

the park marks the French Redoubt of the fortifications of 1775, 
which was connected with the Citadel on Prospect Hill by a ram- 
part and ditch. Traces of the line of connecting earthworks, 
indeed a considerable portion of it, were visible until after the 
town became a city. Between this redoubt and the Winter Hill 
Fort, on the most northerly hill of tlie city [see Walk No. 14], was 
the " Star Fort " in the valley north of Medford Street and east of 
Walnut Street, the eastern boundary of the park ; and further on 
other redoubts. The bronze tablet set in the wall of the little 
battery bears this inscription : — 

This battery 

was erected by the city in 1885 

aud is within the lines of the 

" French Redoubt," 

which was thrown up by tlie American troops 

under Gen. Israel Putnam, 

immediately after the Battle of Bunker Hill : 

and later became 

a part of the besieging lines of Boston 

in 1775-7G. 



The guns were donated by Congress 

and were in service during 

the late Civil War. 



On Sycamore Street, the second on the right beyond the City 
Hall, extending to Winter Hill, is the old John Tufts farmhouse, 
which was the headquarters of General Charles Lee, com- 
manding the left wing of the army, dui'ing the investment of Bos- 
ton, after his removal from the more sumptuous, but more remote, 
Royall house in Medford. [See Walk No. 14.] It stands in the 
valley between the hills near the corner of Medford Street, a 



CHARLESTOWN AND SOMERVILLE. 



i i 



plain, comfortable dwelling considerably modernized, but still pre- 
serving the eighteenth-century stamp. Opposite the house was a 
strong redoubt connected with the works on Winter Hill. 








Headquarters of General Lee. 



Central Street, crossing Highland Avenue a short distance be- 
yond Sycamore Street, leads to Spring Hill at the left, where are 
some of the older estates of the city. On the northwesterly spur 
of this hill Lord Percy planted his cannon on the British retreat, 
and for a short time cannonaded the minute-men, while the 
main body of the exhausted troojjs hurried on. Beyond Central 
Street the avenue extends through a region formerly known as 
"Polly Swamp," once covered with small trees and thick bushes, 
a gruesome place shunned o' nights because '' haunted," but now 
packed with houses, and treeless, not one preserved for shade or 
street adornment. Willow Avenue, near the end of the ride along 
Highland Avenue, leads to a spot marked by a tablet relating 
that ' ' a sharp fight occurred here between the Patriots and the 
British, April 19, 1775. This marks British soldiers' graves." 
The tablet stands on Elm Street on the corner of Willow Avenue, 
a short walk from Highland Avenue, to the left. 

Leaving the car at Davis Square we turn sharply to the right 
into Elm Street, follow this wide curving thoroughfare to its junc- 
tion with Broadway, College Avenue, and Harvard Street, a short 
walk beyond, and so reach the Old Powder House, Here we 
find a public park with the ancient relic as the centre-piece, crown- 
ing a slight eminence, to which carriage-ways as Avell as footwalks 
lead. The tower is thirty feet high to the top of the conical roof, 
and sixty and three quarters feet in circumference at the lower part. 



78 CHARLESTOWN AND SOMERVJLLE, 

The walls are from two to two and a half feet thick, with an inner 
lining of brick, and curve in slightly toward the top. Until well 
into the last quarter of the present century much of the interior 
woodwork, great oaken beams supporting three lofts, remained, 
but now it is an empty shell, having been cleaned oiit when it was 
acquired by the city for preservation. At this time the granite 
blocks framing the barred doorway and window opposite were in- 
serted to strengthen the wall at these points, — good masonry, but 
poor art. A bronze plate set high up in the wall, but at easy read- 
ing distance, gives these statements : — 

This old mill 

Built by John Mallet on u site purchased in 

1703-4 was deeded in 1747 to the Province of 

The Massachusetts Bay in New England 

And for many years was used as a public 

Powder House. 
On September 1, 1774, General Gage seized 

The 'J50 half -barrels of gunpowder 

Stored within it and thereby provoked the 

Great assembly of the following day, on 

Cambridge Common, 

The first occasion on which our patriotic forefathers 

Met in arms to oppose the 

Tyranny of King George III. In 1775 it 

became the magazine of the 

American army besieging Boston. 

This tablet was placed by the Society of the Sons of the Revo- 
lution. The plate over the barred entrance bears simply the 
name of the park, — the Nathan Tufts Park, from the long-time 
owner of the farm adjoining, —with the date of its establishment, 
1^89, and the names of the persons who happened at that time to 
occupy the mayoralty and other city positions. The structure was 
erected before 1710, some historians say, and the blue stone for its 
massive walls was taken, presumably, from the quarries at the 
base of the hill, which were opened some time before it was built 
and gave the little eminence the name of '' Quarry Hill." In the 
early days the region between Quarry Hill and the present Charles- 
town line Avas known as " Stinted Pasture " or " Cow Commons." 
Each inhabitant in Charlestown at that time had the right to 
pasture a certain number of cows here. An hour after sunrise 
the cattle were collected hj a herdsman by the blowing of his 
horn, and were driven to the best grazing places. The original lot 
convej'^ed with the tower to the Province in 1747 was a quarter of 
an acre square, with the right of way to the high road, and this is 
now enib raced in the Public Park. 

The Old Mill remained in the family of its builders, the Mallets, for nearly 
half a centur}-, and for a good part of this period did a thriving trade as a 
grist-mill, being widely known and well i)laced at the meeting of the high 



CIIAKLESTOWN AND SOMERVILLE, 



79 



roads from Cambridge, Medford, Meiiotomy (Arlington), and the interior. 
But for some years before it became the Provincial Powder House its use as a 
windmill had ceased. It remained the principal storehouse for powder in 
the near ueighborliood of Boston from the time of its purchase from Michael 
Mallet by Provincial Treasurer Foye, until about 1830, when the magazine at 
Cambridgeport was built 
hy the Commonwealth. 

Tlie seizure of its store 
of powder by Gage's sol- 
diers, which gives the 
tower its special distinc- 
tion as a monument of the 
first openly hostile act of 
the Revolution on tlie part 
of the British, is thus de- 
scribed in the Essex Ga- 
zette of the Gth of Sep- 
tember, 1774 : . . . "on 
Thursday morning [Sep- 
tember 1], at half -past 
four, about 200 troops em- 
barked on board 13 boats 
at the Long -Wharf and 
proceeded up Medford 
[Mystic] River, to Tem- 
ple's [Ten -Hills] Farm, 
where they landed and 
went to the Powder- 
House on Quarry Hill, in 
C h a r 1 e s t o w n bounds, 
whence tliey have taken 
250 barrels of powder, the 
whole store, and carried it 
to the Castle [Boston 
Harbor]." At the same 
time a detachment went 
on to Cambridge and there 
seized two field - pieces 
which were also conveyed 
to Boston. These proceed- 
ings roused the men of 
Middlesex, and the next 
day hundreds of them 
from tlie surrounding 
towTis flocked to Cam- 
bridge ready for action. It was immediately after this raid that the powder 
and guns of the Provincials were removed to Concord and other distant parts 
and the watch on all the ways out of Boston, both water and land, was estab- 
lished by an organization of thirty patriots, to detect any movement of the 
King's troops and alarm the country. 








Id I 






Old Powder House. 




From the Powder House we turn toward College Hill, rising 
near by at tlie northwest, the finishing feature of this walk and, 
in respect to attractive surroundings, one of the pleasantest. We 
may approach by way of College Avenue, the main thoroughfare 
between Somerville and Medford, and turn to the left at Profes- 
sors' Row, which crosses the southern slope of the hill ; or we may 
follow Broadway westward to a point opposite Wallace Street, 
where a well-worn footpath crosses the broad fields of the college 



80 CHARLESTOWX AXD SOMERVILLE. 

property, passes a small pond, and brings us to Professors' Row 
farther to the west and close beside Metealf Hall, the home of 
some of the women students of the college. Following Profes- 
sors' Row from College Avenue we first pass the President's house, 
then the dwellings of several of the professors. Just beyond Met- 
ealf Hall, on the right, the old '' college walk " leads up over the 
terraced hillside, under arching trees, to Ballou Hall, the original 
college building. At the right of BaUou Hall stands the beautiful 
Goddard Chapel, a famous bit of architecture, with its hundred- 
foot campanile, which has been pronounced by experts the finest 
example of its type in the country. The chapel was erected by 
Mrs. Mary T. Goddard of Xewton, as a memorial of her husband. 
Thomas A. Goddard. who was prominent among the founders of 
the college. At the left is the Bamum Museum of Natural His- 
tory, built and endowed by the famous showman. Phineas T. 
Bamum. If we pass along the Row. beyond the "college walk." 
we m^ay turn to the right at Packard Avenue and ascend the hill 
to the Reservoir [Mystic Water Works], passing on the way the 
old campus, the Goddard Gymnasium, another gift of Mrs, God- 
dard, and Dean Hall, a dormitory, all on the left ; and the Bar- 
num Mtiseuxn on the right. Ascending the steps to the concrete 
walk surrounding the Reservoir banks we may enjoy a panoramic 
view embracing the tidal flats of the Mystic River. Maiden, Med- 
ford. the thick woods of the Middlesex Fells, Winchester, Arling- 
ton, Cambridge, the Brookline hills, and SomerviUe. and in the 
far southeast the Blue Hills, Here, too. are to be seen especially 
beautiful sunsets. Leaving the Reservoir and crossing the summit 
of the Mil, with the Museum on our right, we pass in succession 
on the left West Hall, a dormitory, the Library, with a pump 
beside it yielding excellent spring water, and East Hall, another 
dormitory. On the eastern brow of the hill are the two buff brick 
btiildings of the DiA-iaity School. Miner Hall, the gift of the late 
Rev. Alonzo A, Miner. D. D.. and Paige Hall, the dormitory of 
the school, named for the late Rev. Lucius R . Paige, D. D. . of Cam- 
bridge. Three college buildings are on the eastern side of College 
Avenue — the Commons Btdlding, containing the post-office, 
dining-hall. and rooms for students, the Chemical Building and 
the Bromfield-Pearson School, admirably equipped for the tech- 
nical work of the engineering cotirses. The college estate com- 
prises about one hundred acres. Before the establishment of the 
college this hill was known as Walnut Hill from the walnut-trees 
which once covered it ; but when it was given for the institution 
not one was left. Since that time, however, a new growth has 
been cultivated and the place is now rich in trees of many varieties. 



CHARLESTOWN AND SOMERVILLE. 



81 



Tufts College was chartered iii lSo2, the result of a movement begun among 
Universalists about ten years before. The selection of the site was due to 
the gift of laud on the summit of the hill by Charles Tufts of Somerville, for 
whom the college was named, and of adjoining lots by citizens of Mtd ord. 
The corner-stone of the first building was laid on the '-6d of July, 1>53. The 
college was formally opened in 1855, and the first class graduated in 1857. 
The college is co-educational (since 1S92) ; it has, besides the College of Let- 
ters, with courses on a liberal elective basis leading to the degree of A. B., 
and technical courses for which the degree of D. B. is given, a Divinitj- 
School (founded 18G9), and a Medical School (in Boston, founded 1893). The 
corps of instructors in all departments numbers about 80. The endowment 
is over Sl,SrK),C>rtO, The list of alumni and students numbers (1896) over 170C». 
The presidents have been : the Rev. Hosea Ballon, 2d. D. D. (1854-1801), the 
Rev. Alonzo A. Miner, D. D. (1802-1874), and the Rev. Elmer H. Capen, 
D. D. (present president, installed in 1875). 







Tufts College. 




The return to Boston may be made by steam car [B. & M., S. 
Div.] from the College Hill station, at the northeast foot of the 
hill; or if we are not too "fatigued, and have plenty of time, by 
the Medford electric cars, reached by a half-mile semi-rural walk 
along the willow-lined lane starting from the farther side of the 
railway bridge, to Steams Street, and thence to Main Street. We 
may also return from the south side of the hill, by either of two 
lines of electric cars from Davis Square. West Somerville, or by 
lines along Massachusetts Avenue (reached by a somewhat longer 
walk) passing through Cambridge. 



Medford. 

Boston to Medford Square by electric car, from ScoUay Square, by way of 
Charlestown and Winter Hill (Somerville), 5h miles. By steam car [B. &M., 
Med. Br.], 5 miles. Fare, electric car, 5 cents ; steam car, 10 cents. Bcs- 
ton to West Medford, by steam car [B. & M., S. Div.], 5 miles; fare, 10 
cents. 

Walk a [No. 14]. On the way by electric car : embraces Ten-Hills on 
Mystic side, and other historic points ; in Medford, beginning at the Old 
Royall mansion-house, follows Main Street, skirts the Mystic, covers High 
Street, Pasture Hill, Forest Street, pleasant ways centring in the Square, 
the old buryiug-ground with the Governor Brooks monument, the river road . 
over to the ancient Cradock house. East Medford, and beyond to Wellington. 
Return from Wellington by steam car (fare 8 cents). 

Walk h [No. 1.5]. In West Medford. From the station along Harvard Ave- 
nue to the river : follows the river side back in the direction of old Medford ; 
continues along Prescott Street and the lane to Hastings's bluff ; cuts across 
to High Street ; follows High Street toward West Medford centre again, 
passing numerous old estates ; crosses over to Mystic Mount ; takes cross 
streets to the railroad track, re-enters High Street on the farther side of the 
railroad ; passes by the Brooks estate, embracing the arch over the old canal 
bed, and the Indian monument, to the Weirs. Return by steam car, West 
Medford station. 

Medford dates from 1G30, when, in Jime, a number of colonists sent out 
from England by Matthew Cradock, merchant (the first governor of the 
Massachusetts Bay Colony, Avho remained in England), came from Salem, 
where they had arrived with Governor Wmthrop's company, and began a 
settlement on the northwest side of the Mystic River. They were artisans, 
" selected for their fitness to engage in the business of the fisheries and ship- 
building," and several of them being " coopers and cleaners of timber." Un- 
der the contract made in England, they were to work one tliird for Mr. Cradock, 
and two thirds for the Bay Company ; and Winthrop doubtless interested 
himself in their settlement. They built their first log house on a promontory 
nearly opposite his Ten-Hills Farm on the other side of the river, and at this 
point " at once addressed themselves to the work which the}' had in hand." 
In 1632 they built their first ship, a craft of one hundred tons (the second 
built on the My.stic, Winthrop's " Blessing of the Bay " being the first), and 
in 1634 erected the " Cradock House " still standing. From that early time 
until the opening of the Civil War ship-building was the leading industrj' of 
Medford. Between 1850-60 some of the finest of the clipper-ships of that 
period were built in Medford yards. From 1800 to 1873, when the last vessel 
was launched, 507 ships of various kinds, with an aggregate of 272,124 tons, 
were built here at a total cost of ujjward of twelve and a quarter million dol- 
lars. The greatest number constructed in anj- one yard was 185, and in any 
single year 30 (1848). In i^lace of ships the river craft are now pleasure-boats 
and canoes. The making of "Medford rum," for which the town was long 
widely known, was begun about the year 1735. The name of Medford, or 
"Meadford," as it was first written, was possibly chosen from the resem- 
blance of the broad rich river-marshes of the region to sweeps of English meads. 
Medford lies along the valley of the Mystic and on the rising ground above, 
between College Hill on the north and tlie highlands of the Middle.sex Fells 
on the south. It became a city in 1802. It is sub-divided into Old Medford, 
West Medford, Medford Hillside, and East Medford, the latter including 
Glenwood and Wellington. 

The electric car line to Medford proper, or Old Medford, is by 
way of Main vStreet, Charlestowu, to the '' Neck ; " Broadway, 
Winter Hill ; and Main Street from the snmniit of the hill, direct 



MEDFORD. 83 

to Medford Square. The ride becomes most interesting after 
CharlestoAvn Neck is passed and the ascent of Winter Hill begun. 
The jagged mounds on the right as Broadway is fairly entered 
are relics of Ploughed Hill, afterward Mount Benedict, once a 
bold eminence, where, in ITTo, during the Siege of Boston, the 
Americans took an advanced post, bringing them in range of 
the enemj^'s guns on Bunker Hill : and where later, in 1S2(), the 
Jesuits established the Ureuline Convent, which was bui-ned bj' a 
mob in 1834, its picturesque ruin remaining a striking landmark 
for nearly half a century after. 

The fortification of Ploughed Hill was directed by General SuUivau under a 
severe cauuouade, and his picket line was pushed out '• till it confronted the 
enemy within ear-shot." " The place became the scene of much sharpshoot- 
iug, chiefly conducted b}^ Morgan's Virginia riflemen."' [Winsor.] This post 
was the extreme left of the American advanced line which continued back to 
Cobble Hill in Somerville (afterward occupied bj'the McLean Insane Asylum, 
now in Waverly), and thence to Phips's farm at Lechmere's Point, in East 
Cambridge, where the County Court-House now stands. 

The Convent of St. Ursula, which gave the name of Mt. Benedict to the hill, 
was first established in 1820 in Boston, occupying a building adjoining the old 
Cathedral, which stood where the Cathedral building now stands, on the cor- 
ner of Franklin Street and Winthrop Square. Thence it was removed to this 
eminence. The convent house, an extensive structure of brick and stone, 
stood on the summit of the hill surrounded by cultivated grounds, laid in 
terraces from the highway, with fine orchards, groves, and gardens. The 
mob who fired it (on the night of August 11, 1S34), was composed mostly of 
men from Boston, who had been stirred by idle tales of ill treatment of in- 
mates, notably one Rebecca Reed, a pupil, and Sister Mary John. The act 
was generally deplored by orderly citizens. In Charlestown (within the 
limits of wliich the hill was at that time), a meeting was held at which cou- 
demnjitory resolutions, drawii up by a committee headed by Edward Everett, 
were adopted, and a vigilance committee was appointed. In Boston similar 
action was taken in Faneuil Hall, Harrison Gray Otis, Josiah Quincy, Jr., and 
others speaking, and such men .is Charles G. Loring, Charles P. Curtis, Henry 
Lee, Horace Mann, Robert C. Winthrop, and Thomas Motlej-, being named as 
a committee of investigation. Thirteen of the attacking party were arrested 
and tried, but only one was convicted, and this one being the least guilty was 
subsequently pardoned. Tlie affair was tlie subject of numerous pamphlets 
and books. After the burning of their house, the T'rsulines were for a while 
established in Roxbury, and early in the forties they moved to Canada. 

On the river side a short distance above the remnants of Mount 
Benedict is " Ten-Hills," Avhich Governor Winthrop selected for 
his farm when he "went up to Massachusetts to find a place for 
our sitting down," as he chronicles in his Journal, and made his 
first exploration of the '' Mystick." On one of these hillocks he 
built his farm house and then wrote to his wife, yet in England, 
'■ My dear wife, we are here in a paradise."' In front of him was 
the winding river narrowing from the little bay below where the 
Maiden River joins it ; round about him, a cluster of hills of vary- 
ing sizes, and wide meadows ; behind him a dense forest stretch- 
ing back to the Winter Hill top in which he once lost his way and 
spent an anxious night. Now this is a region far from fair. The 



84 MEDFORD. 

river still winds picturesquely, and something yet remains of the 
hills which gave the farm its name ; hut it is for the most jjart a 
harren waste, a place of hacked mounds, of clay-pits, and brick- 
yards. It has an interest, however, from its historic associations, 
and for the good river and marsh views its few remaining eleva- 
tions afford. To I'each it we should leave our car on Broadway by 
Broadway Park, near the spared elm in the grassy parkway through 
Avhich the tracks here pass. A short and dusty walk through 
Chauncy Street, at the right, across Mystic Avenue (the old Med- 
ford tiarnpike), and along the road through the brick-yard, which 
extends to the hill beyond, brings us to Middlesex Avenue. Tak- 
ing the left turn mto the avenue, and following its cui've to the 
right, in a moment we are at the bridge crossing the river. In the 
little group of rugged and ragged trees on the low bank sloping to- 
wai'd the Avater, at the right of the roadway, we discern a rude 
board sign which suggests a roadside advertisement, and approach- 
ing read this inscription upon it : — 

Ancient Wharf 
Here Governor Winthrop launched 

The Blessing of the Bay 
The first ship built in Massachusetts 

July 4, 1631. 
The British landed here in the raid 
on the Powder House, Sept. 1774. 









Ancient Wharf. 

This now dilapidated sign was placed some years ago, and if it 
accurately marks the spot of the launching, and of the British 
landing a hundred and forty odd years later (which is to be 
doubted, the true site probably being further up stream), it shoiild 
be replaced by an enduring stone tablet. So the courteous and 
communicative occupant of the little house across the way, who 



MEDFORD. 85 

takes an honest pride in showing off his neig-h boring landmarks, 
also thinks. Embedded in the shore he will show us pieces of 
long-seasoned lumber, which are said to be remnants of the 
'' ancient wharf," i^robably, however, the leavings of an old but not 
the most ancient one. On the bank the grass-grown hollow, close 
to an aged arbor-vitae tree, suggesting an ancient cellar, is pointed 
out as the site of the governor's house ; it is more likely that of a 
structure which was here some years ago, and known to the neigh- 
borhood as the " wharf house." Winthrop's house was further on, 
occupying probably one of the hills now partly cut away near the 
point where we are to turn back to Winter Hill. Let us now retrace 
our steps a stone's-throw from the bridge (which carries Middlesex 
Avenue over to Wellington, whence it goes on to Maiden), and take 
the cart-road, from the avenue, which cuts through and up the 
hill. Mounting in the direction of the two solitary trees which 
occupy the otherwise bare top and sides of the hill, we may enjoy 
one of the pleasantest of the river views of this region. This was 
the promontory which Sullivan fortified in the summer of 1775 to 
protect his position at Ploughed Hill from attack on the river 
side. The line of the projected Middlesex Fells parkway (The 
Fells way), which is to cross the river parallel with the present 
bridge, passes over this hill, and when the boulevard is finished 
these now dreary parts will become more cheerful. 

From the hill top our course is to Temple Street, which we see 
beyond the clay-pits opening from Mystic Avenue toward Winter 
Hill ; and we may make it by rough cross lots, or more comfortably 
by footpaths around the pits to the avenue. Temple Street was 
once a narrow lane thick with trees leading down from Winter 
Hill to the mansion-house of the Temples, who occupied Ten-Hills 
between 1740 and the Revolutionary period, which is supposed to 
have stood, if not exactly upon, very near to the site of Winthrop's 
farm-house. It oecui^ied a sightly point on the hill now largely 
dug away, back from Mystic Avenue at the foot of Temple Street, 
and was one of the finest of country-seats in the neighborhood of 
Boston. 

The house was of generous proportions, with a spacious hall, numerous 
large square rooms, and a snug little apartment at the back of the first land- 
ing of tlie stairs overlooking the river. [Drake.] The Temple living here at 
tlie opening of the Revolution — Robert Temple, formerly of Noddle's Island 
[East Boston], elder brotlier of Sir Jolni Temple, Bart, [see Walk No. 3], — 
was a royalist, and in May, 177.5, set sail for England. But the ship being 
obliged to put into Plj-mouth, he was taken off and brought to Cambridge 
Camp. His family, however, continued to reside in tlie Ten-Hills house 
under the protection of General Artemas Ward. 

A later owner of Ten-Hills, Colonf^l Samuel Jaques (born 177G, died 1859), 
occupied the house, — in his time described as a square, two-storied wooden 
house shaded by a few elms, — for twenty-eight years, and the family main- 



86 MEDFORD. 

taiued the place some time aftei' liis death. " He was in his habits and man- 
ners the type of an English country gentleman," says Drake, and, Hunnewell 
adds, dressed somewhat in tlie quaint fashion of the English squire of his 
period. He impaled a deer-park and kei)t his hounds, "and often wakened 
the echoes of the neighboring hills with the note of his bugle or the cry of 
his pack." He raised fine stock of horses, cows, and sheep, the fame of 
which was wide-spread. Henry Clay was once an interested visitor of the 
place, and Daniel Webster was not an infrequent guest. At an earlier period, 
about tlie opening of this century, Elias Hasket Derby occupied the farm 
and stocked it with fine breeds of sheep. He is said to have been the first to 
import merino sheep into this country. The old manor-house stood until 
1877, but some time before it disappeared it had fallen from its high estate 
to a tenement for the families of laborers in the neighboring brick-yards. 

Wintlirop's domain at Ten-Hills embraced GOO acres granted to him by the 
Court of Assistants in September, 1G31, after he had built his house here and 
had launched the " Blessing of the Bay." The farm remained in the Winthrop 
family till 1077, when it was sold to the widow of Peter Lidgett, merchant of 
Boston. Her daughter married Lieut. -Governor Usher of New Hampshire, to 
wiiom the farm seems to have passed after his wife's death in 1G98. At his 
death it was estimated at 500 acres worth £10,000. From the Usher heirs it 
passed in 1740 to Robert Temple, and from liim to his son, Robert. The 
latter mortgaged it in 17G4-G5 as 251 1 acres. In 1780 Nathaniel Trac}', 
merchant of Cambridge and Newburyport (who fitted out the first privateer in 
the Revolutionary War), acquired the estate from the Temple family, and in 
1785 he mortgaged it as 300 acres with buildings. It came into the possession 
of Colonel Samuel Jaques and others, in 1830. In 1852-58, when the heirs of 
Col. Jaques mortgaged it, its dimensions had dwindled to 80 acres, 25 rods, 
all between the river and Medford turniiike. [Hunnewell.] 

Again on Broadway at the head of Temple Street we take an- 
other Medford car — they run at frequent intervals — and con- 
tinue our ride. On the summit of the hill our road — the old 
Medford road, now Main Street — diverges to the right. At this 
point, on the right side, a stone tablet set against the picket fence 
on the sidewalk line bears this inscription : — 

Paul Revere 
Rode over this road in hia 

Midnight ride 
to Lexington and Concord 

April 18, 1775. 



Site of the " Winter Hill Fort," 

A stronghold built by 

the American forces 

while besieging Boston 

1775-6. 

The fortification here was directlj' across Broadway, inclosed on 
all sides except at the entrance from the Medford road. 

As described by Drake, this fort was in form an irregular pentagon, with 
bastions and deep fosse. A breastwork conforming witli the present direc- 
tion of Central Street beyond (from Broadway), joined the southwest angle. 
A hundred yards in advance of the fort were outworks in which guards were 
nightly posted. The works marked the extreme left of tlie American interior 
line of defense. They were erected immediately after the Battle of Bunker 
Hill, and were garrisoned mainly by New Hampshire men. After the sur- 
render of Burgoyne in 1777, the Hessians of his troops were cantoned here, 
while the English were quartered on Prospect Hill. [See Walk No. 13.] 



MEDFORD. 87 

The square flat-roofed house occupying the exceptionally fine 
situation at the junction of Broadway and Main Street dates from 
1805, and was long known as the Odin house. Edward Everett 
lived here in 1826-30, Avhile he was a member of Congress. One 
of the later owners was John S. Edgerly, in his day a prominent 
citizen of Somerville. 

From the summit Main Street makes a rapid descent, and at 
the right a fine view of the Mj^stic and its meadows is soon dis- 
closed. After passing Tufts Square, at the foot of the hill, we 
may catch a glimpse, on the left, of the Old Powder House, upon 
which Gage's soldiers, whose supposed landing-place we have seen, 
made their raid, and a full view of the Tufts College buildings 
spreading over College Hill. [See Walk No. 13.] On the right 
again, we pass the Mystic Park racing track, and the Mystic 
House, with its whitewashed tree-trunks ; and, ascending a slight 
elevation, enter a region of pleasant houses marking the outskirts 
of the thickly settled portions of the suburban city. Stearns 
Street, opening by the side of the old, well-conditioned brick house 
on the left, leads into a willow-lane crossing over to College Hill. 
This way was named for the late George L. Stearns, a leading 
Free-soiler and anti-slavery advocate, and helpful during the Civil 
War in enlisting negroeS in the United States army. He was a 
steadfast friend of John Brown, who more than once was secreted 
in his house. The Stearns estate, back from Main Street, on the 
left, was for many years one of the pleasantest in Medford. 

We should leave the car at the George Street corner, next be- 
yond Stearns Street, on the left side, and begin our Old Medford 
walk at the ancient Roy all mansion-house, which, though shorn 
of its grandeur, still stands a rare relic of Provincial days. Ap- 
proaching from the main street we pass through the aveime with 
only a remnant now of the beautiful trees Avhieh once lined it, and 
over the narrowed grounds which originally spread in ample pro- 
portions to the present fi'ont. 

In plan and finish the house is one of the best examples of pure 
colonial architecture in the country. It is of three stories, the 
upper line of windows smaller than those below ; with brick walls 
rising at either end above the pitched roof ; three sides sheathed 
with wood, the west side, facing the old-fashioned paved court- 
yard, being the most highly ornamented. The brick structure 
near the porch on the south side, and fronting upon the court- 
yard, was originally the quarters of Colonel Royail's "parcel of 
slaves," twenty-five or more, which he brought Avith his family in 
1737 from Antigua, where he had made a fortune as a merchant. 
Until comparatively recent years these quarters remained vm- 



88 



MEDFORD. 



changed, " with the deep fireplace where the blacks prepared 
their food, the last visible relies of slavery in New England." 
[Drake.] The interior of the mansion-house still preserves much 
of its original arrangement and ornamentation. The lower story 
is finished in the Doric order, the parlor paneled from floor to 
ceiling, with pilasters and wooden cornice ; and the parlor cham- 




The Royall House. 

ber in the second story is in the Corinthian order, with paneled 
dado. The rooms are generally large, and the detail throughout 
is carefully elaborated. The leather hangings which enriched the 
walls of the gi^ander rooms remained till about twenty-five years 
ago. On one of the embossed fire-backs was a representation of 
au ape with an inscription in Latin, which, translated, coniijletely 
refutes Darwin — " An ape can never be a man." The staircase, 
rising from the broad hall extending through the house from the 
eastern to the western side, is with tAvisted newel-post, a fine ex- 
ample of this style. Wide paneling ornaments the side of the 
staircase, and the woodwork of the hall is embellished with fine 
carvings. 

Tlie grounds about the house in the Royall days, when the es- 
tate comprised several hundred acres, were ambitiously adorned. 
There was a large inclosed garden, with pleasant walks, shrub- 
bery, and fruit orchards. The chief feature was the sixmmer-house 
on a terraced elevation approached from the courtyard on the 
west side, through a formal garden path, bordered with box. 



MEDFORD. 



89 



There Is yet here an outline of the path which we may follow to 
the elevation still left with remnants of the terrace. Tliree short 
flights of brownstone steps, on the east and west sides, led to the 
summer-house. This was a building in the form of an octagonal 
temple, with pilasters and all the other features, thoroughly 
constructed, every joint carefully jirotected with lead ; and sur- 
mounted by a wooden image of Winged Mercury. The important 
detail of the structure is said to have been ordered in England, 
and every nail used in its construction, from spike to shingle nail, 




Interior of the Royall House. 



was wrought by hand. This unique affair was demolished only 
about ten years ago — given away for taking down ; and the per- 
son executing this commission took five hundred pounds of lead 
from the roof and protected joints. The locality suffered a great 
loss in its removal, for it was treasured as one of the widest known 
and most curious of Medford landmarks. The original approach 
to the courtyard from the highway was by a broad sweeping ave- 
nue between rows of great elms, and this was the formal entrance 
to the estate, the west front of the house being the main one. 



90 



MEDFORD. 



The Royall house dates from 1738. A house, built by Lieut.-Governor 
John Usher, which had long stood ou the site, was utilized by Colonel Roy- 
all in its construction. Colonel Royall purchased the estate in 1732, and 
its original dimensions exceeded five hundred acres. He did not long enjoy 
his country-seat, for he died in June, 1739, and was buried in his marble 
tomb in the old burying-ground in Dorchester. [See Dorchester walk.] His 
son Isaac Royall, 2d, succeeded him, and lived here till the outbreak of the 
Revolution, when he tied the country. The women of his family remained a 
short time in the mansion after his departure, and when the New Hampshire 
men pitched their tents in Medford, Colonel Jolin Stark was asked to make 
it his headquarters, " as a safeguard against insult or any invasion of the es- 
tate the soldiery might attempt. A few rooms were set apart for the use of 
the bluff old ranger, and he, on his part, treated the family with considerate 
respect." [Drake.] Subsequently the house was occupied as headquarters 
by Geueral Lee, who called it " Hobgoblin Hall " from its echoing corridors ; 
and later by General Sullivan. At length it was taken under the confiscation 
act, and put in care of the Medford Committee of Inspection. For the next 
27 years all rents and incomes from it went into the treasury of the Common- 
wealth. Early in the present century the house was used as a seminary 
for women. About the year 1808 a claim to the estate was presented by 
Royall's granddaughter, and allowed. In 1810 the place was purchased by 
Jacob Tidd, whose family held it for about half a century. In later years it 
has had different owners. 

Isaac Royall, 2d, was an amiable person, a generous host, — "no gentleman 
gave better dinners or drank costlier wines," — a leading citizen, and a large- 
hearted benefactor. He was long a member of the General Court, for twenty- 
two years in the Governor's Council, and wms appointed a councilor by 
mandamus in 1774, but declined to serve, — from timidity. Gage wrote. He 
was the founder of the Royall Professorship of Law, in Harvard College, the 
foundation of the present Law School, giving over two thousand acres of land 
in Granby, Mass., for this purpose. One hundred acres in the same town 
were also given by him to the town of Medford, "for the use and better 
purpose " of the common schools. The town of Royalston was named in his 
honor. One of his daughters married George Erving, a merchant of Boston, 
and another married Sir William Pepperell ; and his sister, Penelope Royall, 
became the wife of Colonel Henry Vassal of Cambridge. He died of small- 
pox in England in 1781. 

From the Royall house to Medford Square is a short walk of six 
or eight minutes. Instead, however, of going direct by Main 




The Mystic Marshes, looking from South Streeu 



MEDFORD. 91 

Street and the Cradock bridge spanning' the river, let us make a 
detour through South Street, at the left, by the old Medford 
House (an old-tirae tavern), passing along the river side to Win- 
throp Street, thence, at the right, over Winthrop bridge, — or the 
long bridge, as the natives call it, — to Winthrop Square, and again 
at the right into High Street. Thus one of the pleasantest views 
of the serpentine stream coursing through the outspreading 
marshes, with the town rising on the banks above them, is had, 
and the square approached on the other side through a fine old- 
fashioned thoroughfai'e rich in stately elms. South Street was 
originally Fish Lane, one of the early roads, and High Street 
was the third high road laid out by the town, connecting it with 
Menotomy, now Arlington, It yet retains something of the colo- 
nial look, a few of the old mansion-houses of the style of that 
period being preserved ; while its beautiful trees are its glory. 

A few hunch-ed feet east of the turn from Winthrop Street, or 
Square, into High Street, we come to the Episcopal Churcli, on 
the south side, designed by the late H. H. Richardson, one of the 
early efforts of this master architect : a building of rubble-stone, 
with Medford granite trimmings, in the style of the conventional 
English church, pleasing in effect and finish. It occupies the site 
of the old Bigelow mansion-house, from which, for nearly a dozen 
years early in this century, Timothy Bigelow, speaker of the 
Massachusetts House of Representatives (1S05-6, 1808-10, 1812- 
20), drove to the Boston State House to preside over the delibera- 
tions of this branch of the General Court. Next of note on this 
side of the street is the older Thatcher Magoun house, built by 
the pioneer of the Mystic ship-builders who made Medford famous. 
Adjoining this estate is the unfinished St. Joseph's Catholic 
Church. On the northerly side of the street, at the junction with 
Winthrop Street, formerly stood one of the most picturesque 
houses in the vicinity — that of Parson Ebenezer Turell, for fifty- 
four years (1724-78) minister of the First Parish. It was removed 
within the past ten years, to the keen regret of many old citizens. 
The square, old-fasliioned house, with ornamental railing over the 
gutters, is known as the Train house, from the family long occu- 
pying it. It now contains the valuable Masonic library of its 
present owner, General Samuel C. Lawrence, Avhich is said to be 
the most complete collection of its kind in the country. The next 
house is distinguished as that in which General Brooks, afterward 
Governor Brooks, entertained Washington upon the occasion of 
his last visit to New England. The church next beyond is the 
Unitarian Church (successor of the First Parish), replacing in a 
style far less happy the old meeting-house, a noble feature in the 



92 MEDFORD. 

landscape, which was destroyed by fire about three years ago. 
Adjoining the church edifice, across Highland Avenue, is the 
present jiarsonage, also an old house which was long occupied by 
Dr. David Osgood, the third minister of Medford. 

The second Thatcher Magoun mansion-house, next east, which 
was long distinguished as the finest place on High Street, has 
been the home of the Public Library since 1875. It was given to 
the town by Thatcher Magoun, 2d, for a library building, together 
with a generous plot of land and five thousand dollars in money. 
In remodeling the structure for library purposes care has been 
taken to preserve its general outlines and interior arrangement, 
and its appearance to-day is but slightly changed from that which 
it bore in the days of its pi-ime as the hospitable dwelling of one 
of the worthies of the town. Within, with an excellent collection 
of books, and a cabinet of minerals, fossils, relics, especiallv rich 
in Indian curiosities, are several interesting portraits and pictures, 
— portraits of the two Thatcher Magouns, of Governor John 
Brooks, of William H. Burbank, and Samuel M. Stevens, the last 
two Medford men who fell in the Civil War ; a painting of the old 
Cradock house (which we shall see in East Medford), by George S. 
Wasson ; a crayon head of Whittier, by a local artist, and a large 
painting of Chocorua. 

Tlie Medford library originated in the Medford Social Library founded in 
1825. It became the Town Library in 185G. Its name was then changed to 
the "Medford Tufts Library," in honor of Turell Tufts, who left by his will 
the sum of $5000 for its benefit, the income to be expended annually for valu- 
able books only. In 186G, the town voted to call it " The Medford Public 
Library," and so it has since been known. It contains about 12,000 volumes. 
It has received numerous gifts in books as well as in bequests. The portraits, 
with the exception of that of Thatcher Magoun, 2d, were also gifts from 
individuals : the Thatcher Magoun, the elder, made from an old painting, 
coming from his son ; the Governor Brooks (dating from 1818, by Frothing- 
ham of Charlestown), coming from Mrs. Dudley Hale in 18G8 ; the Burbank 
and the Stevens from General Samuel C. Lawrence. The Thatcher Magoun, 
2d, was ordered by the town and painted by Harvey Young of Boston. The 
crayon of Whittier was by William A. Thompson. Wasson's " Cradock 
House " was given by Colonel Norwood P. Hallowell, and the Chocorua by 
John E. Richards. 

The Savings Bank at the approach to the Square occupies the 
site of the house of Governor John Brooks, where he lived for 
many years, and died in 1825. Medford Square was originally 
the market-place, the centre of the town. It is yet the centre 
where the early public roads, the great highways to the surround- 
ing country, vinite, and where the municipal offices are established ; 
but no longer the common centre for all Medford. Nearly all of 
its long-cherished landmarks have disappeared. There are still 
standing, however, one or two interesting structures of the Pro- 
vincial period, and within its immediate neighborhood is an an- 



MEDFORD. 



93 



cient garrison house dating from the earliest days of the Colony. 
The old brick mansion-house on the north side of the Square, with 
side walls rising above the roof after tlie fashion of colonial times, 
dates from the middle of the eighteenth century. This was orig- 
nially the dwelling of Tliomas Secomb, who is memorable as the 
founder of the first fund for the benefit of the poor and needy of 
the town, which became the basis of the substantial ''Secomb 
Charities," now administered by the city authorities. In after 
years the house was transformed into a tavern, long known as 
"Simpson's ; " and it suffered varying fortunes until the town be- 
came a city, when it was restored and taken for city uses. The 




Old Garrison House. 



old Garrison house in Pasture Hill lane, near by, was the third 
house in the plantation, built before IGiO by Major Jonathan 
Wade, and was first called a fort. It was originally but half its 
present size, the addition having been made in the latter part of 
the last century. The brick walls of the older part, exceptionally 
thick and stout, are pierced with " port-holes ; " and it is strongly 
built throughout to resist attack. Fortunate in its owners, it is 
well preserved, and is yet a comfortable dwelling. The interior 
is most interesting, and its occupants courteously open it to appre- 
ciative visitors. 
The Main Street approach to the Square from South Street, 



94 MEDFORD, 

where we turned to walk around the river and enter by High 
Street, is the okl business thoroughfare upon which are the prin- 
cipal shops, mostly in quaint old buildings. Main Street was the 
first public road laid out in the settlement, and at first led from 
"The Ford" to Boston. The present Cradock Bridge, which 
carries over the river an arch of stone, bearing the dates 1638- 
1880, is near, though not directly on the site of the first bridge 
built by the settlers and the only bridge in the place over the 
Mystic for public travel until 1754. The view up and down the 
river from its side walls is pleasing. Salem Street, starting from 
the northeast side of the Square, and leading to Maiden, was the 
second highway laid out by the town ; High Street to Arlington^ 
as already stated, was the third ; and Forest Street, opening from 
the north side, leading to Stoneham "through the woods," the 
fourth. Forest Street, with its long lines of majestic elms and 
border of attractive estates, the stateliest of these old roads, is the 
Medford entrance to the Middlesex Fells by way of Pine Hill. 
[See Walk No. 9.] This hill is the highest elevation in the range 
known as " the Rocks," about a mile from the Square, and marks 
the northern boundary of the city. 

Leaving the Square by Forest Street we soon get a good view, 
across the fields on the left, of Pasture Hill, the sightliest point 
of which, overlooking the lovely valley of the Mystic, is occupied 
by the picturesque club-house of the Medford Club. Continuing 
along Forest Street until Water Street, at the right, is reached, we 
may turn here, take Ashland Street at the right, follow this street 
back toward the Square, and come out on Salem Street, a stone's 
throw above the Square. By this course one of the fairest of the 
older residential sections of the place is traversed, and an excellent 
idea obtained of what Medford was in the old days of town-life, 
for here, notably on Ashland Street, is a delightful mixture of 
ancient and modern in the style of the houses and of their grounds. 
Beyond Water Street the way along Forest Street soon becomes 
more rural, the roadway presently narrowing and making pictur- 
esque turns, and the walk may be extended, if we prefer, to Pine 
Hill on the one side, and Wright's Pond on the other. There is no 
more inviting region in these parts, but it should be reserved for 
the outing in the Fells, to which a full day may with profit be 
devoted. 

On Salem Street just below Ashland Street, on the opposite side, 
is the ancient burying-ground, the earliest known in the town, a 
picturesque though neglected spot, inclosed by a low stone wall 
under which the tombs extend. It contains the graves of a num- 
ber of the early settlers and of old Medford families. Here are 



MEDFORD. 



95 



entombed Governor John Brooks, distinguished as soldier and 
civilian ; the Rev, Aaron Porter, the first settled minister of Med- 
ford ; Deacon John Wliitmore, one of the earliest settlers, and 
other members of the Wliitmore family ; Simon Tufts, the first 
physician of the town, and numerous members of the Tufts, the 
^Villis, and the Wade families. The oldest gravestone bears 
date of 1684, One ancieiit stone, six inches thick, records the death 
of George Willis, aged ninety, in 1G90. He was one of the early 
settlers near Cambridge, where he lived for sixty years. One 
stone in the Wliitmore group is dated 1085, — that by the grave of 
Francis Wliitmore, who died at the age of sixty-two. Deacon John 
Whitmore reached eighty-seven years of age. There are few epi- 
taphs in this graveyard, and but a single monument, — the granite 
shaft over the tomb of Governor Brooks. Its modest inscription 










'a'lt^JO^^<y 



The Governor Brooks Monument. 



recounts in the simplest form his militarj' and civic services and 
his distinguished virtues : — 

Sacred to the memory of John Brooks, who was born in Medford in the 
mouth of May, 1752. and educated at the town school. He took up arms for 
his country on the 19th of April, 1775. He commanded the regiment wliich 
first entered the enemies' lines at Saratoga, and served witli honour to the end 
of the war. He was appointed marshal of the district of Massachusetts by 
President "Washington, and after filling several important civic and military 
offices, lie was, in the year 1816, chosen Governor of the Commonwealth, and 
discharged the duties of that station for seven successive years to general 
acceptance. He was a kind and skillful physician ; a brave and prudent 
officer ; a wise, firm, and impartial magistrate ; a true patriot, a good citizen, 
and a faithful friend. In his manners he was a gentleman ; in morals, pure ; 
and in profession and practice, a consistent Christian. He departed this life 
in peace, on the 1st of March, 1825, aged seventy-three. This monument to 



96 MEDFORD. 

his honoured memory was erected by several of his fellow-citizena and friends 
in the year 1838. 

In addition to tlie public service recorded in this inscription Dr. Brooks 
was an influential delegate in the State Convention for the adoption of the 
Federal Constitution ; alter his term as marshal, he was inspector of the reve- 
nue, also by Washington's appointment ; he served in both branches of the 
General Court and in the Executive Council of the State ; and during the war 
of 1812 he was Governor Strong's adjutant-general. He was the second presi- 
dent of the Society of Cincinnati, president of the Washington Monument 
Association, and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. 
Of Medford, he was esteemed the foremost citizen and was idolized by the in- 
habitants. " They referred to him all their disputes ; and so judicious were 
his decisions, that he had the rai-e felicity to satisfy all parties, and to recon- 
cile them to bonds of amity. It was observed by an eminent lawyer who 
resided there that he had no professional business in Medford ; for Governor 
Brooks prevented all contentions in the law." [Drake.] 

The oldest of the tombs along the front of the enclosure were 
built hi 1767, long after it had come to be called the " old burying- 
grouud," In the sovithwest corner was the slaves' quarter, in 
which a number of bondmen were buried in unmarked graves. 

From Salem Street, near the burying-ground, we may proceed 
by way of Riverside Avenue to the ancient Cradock house in East 
Medford. The walk is about three quarters of a mile in length, 
and is uninteresting except on the river side of the avenue, where 
the marshes spread out magnificently. On Salem Street, just above 
Cross Street, at the corner of Fountain Street, is the site of the 
old Fountain Tavern, dating from 1725, long a familiar land- 
mark. This was a famous inn in its day, and the most ambitious 
in the town. It was first called the "Palaver Tavern," from 
the picture on its great sign which represented two men who 
were called " palaverers " shaking hands; and it became the 
" Fountain House," when a new sign was swung out displaying a 
rude painting of a fountain pouring punch into a large bowl. Two 
great elms stood in front of the house, and in their branches were 
platforms, connected with each other and the house by wooden 
bridges, which were used in summer as places of resort for drink- 
ing punch and cordials. [Brooks.] Tea-parties were also some- 
times gathered there. On Cross Street is another interesting old 
house, on the left, beyond the railroad bridge, in which Lydia 
Maria Child, the famous anti-slavery writer, attended school when 
a girl. She was a native of Medford, born in 1802. The house 
in which she was born is the Francis house, on the corner of Salem 
and Ashland streets, now occupied by the Medford Historical So- 
ciety. Riverside Avenue was formerly Ship Street, so called from 
the shipyards here in the flourishing ship-building times. At one 
period, within a short walk along the river there were ten large 
yards in active operation. Here also, in the near neighborhood of 



MEDFORD. 



97 



the Cradock house, were the first brickyards, the earliest opened in 
1630, the first year of the settlement. The ship-hnilding industry 
ceased in 1873 with the launching of the last Medford-built ship, 
from Foster's yard, near the point where the first ships built by 
Cradock's men took the water in 1632 ; but bi'ick-making still 
continues. 

The Cradock house stands on the left side of the avenue in an 
open field by the corner of Spring Street, just beyond two old- 
fashioned estates — that on the waterside the Foster homestead, 
— and a refreshing line of shade trees along the roadway. It is 




The Ancient Cradock House. 



believed to be the oldest house in the country now standing which 
retains its original form. The suijposition is that its building was 
begun in the spring of 1634, immediately after the grant of land 
by the General Court to Cradock, which was subsequently defined 
as extending ' ' one mile into the country from the riverside in all 
places." It was designed for a house of refuge and defense as 
well as for a dwelling, and long went by the name of " The Fort." 
Its walls of large-sized brick, Medford made, with a band of 
masonry projecting for ornament between the first and second 
stories, are eighteen inches thick, and the massive beams are 
of rough-hewn oak. The large arched windows in the back side, 
near the ground, were originally protected by heavy iron bars. It 



98 MEDFORD. 

had close window shutters, port-holes, and a lookout in the hack 
wall of the western chimney commanding the shore approach, 
while the main door was incased in iron. The roof is douhle pitch, 
the top, six feet on each side of the ridge-pole, nearly flat. The 
interior was divided into large apartments, the walls lined with 
wainscot or hung with arras ; and we are told that at one time an 
"elegant staircase, with rails and posts ricUy carved," ascended 
to the garret floor, which was one large apartment nearly sixteen 
feet high. In the brick-work are cupboards for the safe deposit 
of valuables, and elsewhere are several strong fireproof closets. 
There are three great fireplaces ; one with heavy crane, in the 
back room on the west side, being quite deep. The house as it 
now stands is forty feet in front by thirty-two feet deep. But at 
first, it is conjectured, there was a large wing on the east side, 
where early in the present century the partly decayed wall was 
taken down and rebuilt. It was doubtless also surrounded by 
groups of outbuildings for farm and domestic purposes and by 
other structures ; for the heirs of Cradock (who died about the 
year 1641), in a deed of this property given in 1652, mentioned 
houses, barns, and numerous other buildings. The field which 
the house occupies, slightly elevated above the marshes, was 
inclosed by palisades, and its only approach was by a private 
road through gates. It was included in the park impaled by the 
order of Cradock, to which Wood refers in the ' ' New England 
Prospect," written in 1634, — "where he keeps his cattle tiU he 
can store it with deer." From time to time during its long life 
the venerable structure suffered numerous changes through the 
action of the elements and of man, and in 1882 its complete demo- 
lition was threatened. But at this juncture, happily, a number of 
gentlemen started a movement for its preservation, which resvilted 
in its jDurchase by a public-spirited citizen. General Samuel C. 
Lawrence, and in its restoration by him to very nearly its original 
appearance. Ultimately it is General Lawrence's purpose to place 
this veritable treasure in the hands of the local historical society, 
to be maintained, under proper restrictions, as a public cabinet 
for historical rehcs. 

Spring Street leads to the Glenwood section of East Medford, 
and Riverside Avenue continues to Wellington, the easternmost 
part of Medford city, about a quarter of a mile beyond. Follow- 
ing the avenue, which now onward winds as the river courses, the 
old Wellington farm on the waterside is reached ; and about sixty 
rods southeast of the ancient farm-house on the promontory here, 
we come to the site of the first house built by Cradock's men, and 
the first one in Medford. This was set up in July, 1630, on the 



MEDFORD. 99 

highest point of the promontory, directly opposite Governor Win- 
throp's Ten-Hills farm on the north side of the river. It is sup- 
posed to have been a large log house, with a small deep cellar 
walled with stone, and a chimney of bricks laid in clay. It had 
attained a venerable age before it disappeared, and the cellar 
remained undisturbed until the third quarter of the present cen- 
tury. So late as 1855 some of the bricks of the old chimney were 
collected as souvenirs and are now preserved by Medford antiqua- 
rians. The discomforts of the walk from the Cradock house to 
this point will be forgotten in the enjoyment of the extensive view 
of river and marshes which it affords, and of the picturesque rem- 
nant of the ancient farm with its modern surroundings. 

"Wellington, the suburb which lies between the farm and the 
Maine Railroad on the east, is one of the most attractive of the 
newer quarters of the city in situation and finish, with pleasant 
roadways and suburban homes of modern type. From the station 
here we can make the return to Boston by steam cars (a short 
ride), or taking Middlesex Avenue we may cross the river and 
return by way of Ten-Hills, and the electric car lines down Win- 
ter Hill. An electric line along Middlesex Avenue is contem- 
plated, and the Fens Parkway when finished will afford a choice 
of ways to Boston. 

Walk b. Our West Medford walk will be a short one. The 
quarter lies somewhat removed from Old Medford, with which it 
is connected by an electric line along High Street, and is directly 
approached from Boston by the main fine of the Boston and Maine 
Railroad, Southern Division. 

Upon our arrival by the steam cars, we should pause at the sta- 
tion a moment and examine this structure. It is something unique 
in railway stations ; not in respect to its architecture, which is 
conventional, but on account of the peculiar material entering into 
its composition. In the outside walls, the foundation of which is 
local stone, are imbedded a great variety of minerals, some jewels, 
many rare and numerous oddly shaped stones, shells, horns, bil- 
liard balls, polished marbles, coral, and other curious things, 
contribitted by townspeople at the time of its erection, in 1885. 
In the interesting mixture are several specimens of tourmalines, 
agates, onyx, amethysts, garnets, jasper, pjTite, geodes, slag, 
syenites, basalts ; quartz crystals from Hot Springs, Arkansas ; rose 
quartz from the Bad Lands of Dakota ; Amazon stone from 
Pike's Peak ; a section of the mouth of a geyser, from Washington 
(State) ; malachite from Siberia ; agalmatolite from Japan ; an 
Indian pestle ; a whale's tooth ; a column of basalt from Giant's 
Causeway, Ireland ; a stone profile of a woman's bust ; and a 



100 MEDFORD. 

curious natural bust of Washington : a water-worn drift - rock 
found in Medford. A catalogue of the minerals in this novel 
public cabinet has been prepared by a mineralogist resident in the 
town and issued in a little " Souvenir " of the station. 

Let us first strike for the riverside, taking Harvard Avenue, 
which leaves the square back of the station at the left. Follow- 
ing this way for a third of a mile or so, under the refreshing shade 
of its trees, and by pleasant suburban houses, — rather too thickly 
set, however, — we reach Arlington Street as the river is ap- 
proached. Turning into the latter street, taking the left turn, we 
now follow the curving lines of the river back in the direction of 
Old Medford. Arlington Street is itself far from picturesque ; but 
if we keep our eyes turned toward the waterside, we may, occa- 
sionally, in spite of the forbidding structures which man has 
raised, get pretty glimpses and sometimes open views of the river 
country. At the first sharp turn in the road we may look across 
to the pumping-station of the Mystic Water Works, with the 
grove about it, and College Hill rising beyond. Here is an invit- 
ing footpath leading down to the marshes, which we may take for 
a closer view. On the road again, we shortly reach Boston Ave- 
nue, which leads to Boston by way of College Hill, and, taking a 
turn down this way to the bridge, we have here agreeable views 
both up and down the river, notably up, taking in the arch of the 
railway bridge and the pleasant country rising beyond to the left. 
Back to Arlington Street we continue to its end at a junction of 
streets. Taking the left turn and crossing the railway track, we 
come to Prescott Street, the first on the right. Turning here 
we enter at once a neighborhood of fine roadside trees, which 
grows pleasanter as we proceed. On the right we pass the house 
in which the Rev. David A. Wasson, —the essayist and sometime 
minister, settled for a few years over the society formed by Theo- 
dore Parker in Boston, — lived during the latter part of his life, 
and where he wrote the most important of his works ; and be- 
yond, on the other side, we get glimpses of the fine estates of 
the brothers Hallowell, — Colonel Richard P. and Frank W. Hal- 
lowell. Through the side streets at the left we have pleasing 
vistas ; while on the right, now and again, the river and its marshes 
display their charms. 

Prescott Street formally ends where Mystic Street, one of Med- 
ford's fairest tree-lined thoroughfares, makes off at the left, over 
the high ground toward Winchester, but it drifts into a grassy 
lane with regular lines of trees on either side as if it were in- 
tended to continue the road when somebody's mind changed. It 
is a lane which we cannot resist, although its finish is indefinite. 



MEDFORD. 101 

The most traveled footpath is the well-beaten one down at the 
right toward the water's edge starting out along a slight mound. 
This continues onward around the base of the height which our 
lane approaches and crosses the marshes beyond to Winthrop 
Street leading to Old Medford. [See Walk a.] Keeping to our 
lane we stroll on toward the Avooded hill ahead ; and at its finish, 
either clambering over the stone wall at the left, or passing 
through the wires of the slender fence in front of us, we take 
footpaths to Hastings's Bluff, the rocky promontory, with fringe 
of trees on the waterside, which overlooks the marshes and Old 
Medford toward the left. The Avay from the wall or fence at the 
lane-bound is over private ground ; but if we avoid the cultivated 
parts we may pass peacefully, for the estate owners here are 
generous-minded folk. Still, if we wish strictly to observe the 
rules against trespassing, — as every good citizen, we must admit, 
should, — we may approach this sightly bluff by the footpath 
below, and mount it on the further side. All along our lane and 
the hillside beyond, is to be found in its season a variety of spring 
flora. From the promontory, we go back to the footpath on the 
marshes, and turning to the left take the path across the field and 
down the slope to Hastings's Lane, leading over to the main road- 
way or High Street, by the eastern end of which we entered Old 
Medford on Walk a. This lane is also a private way, but we 
have the permission of the estate owners to cross it if we do so 
directly, and refrain from trespassing on either side. The place 
on the right, with mansion-house of smooth finisli in the style of 
1840, and yellow in color, is the homestead estate of the late 
Edmund T. Hastings, Sr. Standing back two hundred and fifty 
feet from High Street, on a knoll overlooking a broad view of 
river and valley, shaded by noble elms, with an old orchard near 
by, the house of comfortable proportions occupies one of the most 
charming natural situations in the county, and with its surround- 
ings makes a pleasant picture. 

Hastings's Lane meets High Street opposite the opening of 
Woburn Street, the old highway to Woburn, by way of Winches- 
ter. We are here to take the left turn and proceed through High 
Street, back in the direction in which we came on the other side. 
But first let us take a look at the quaint old houses on either 
corner, westerly. That on the south side was built long prior to 
the Revolution, and in 1775 was owned by John Bishop, in his day 
a leading townsman. The yellow gambrel-roofed house opposite, 
facing Woburn Street, is an excellent representative of late eigh- 
teenth-century architecture, known as the old Jonathan Brooks 
house. Jonathan Brooks was a tanner, and a second cousin of 



102 MED FORD. 

Peter C. Brooks (the eminent Boston merchant of his time whose 
country-seat, now occupied by descendants, we shall later reach 
on this walk). The old style house next west is said to have 
been built by Peter C. Brooks for Jonathan, and the latter moved 
into it in 1837. Accordingly this is locally known as the second 
Jonathan Brooks house. Continuing along High Street west, the 
second house on the right, by Mystic Street, of brick covered with 
mastic, was built in 1851, by the Rev. John Pierpont, the distin- 
guished Unitarian clergyman, reformer, and writer, for a brief 
period pastor of the First Parish of Medford, and later for twenty- 
four years minister of the Hollis Street Church in Boston. He 
died here at an advanced age in 1866. This house was unroofed 
in a remarkable tornado of the summer of 1851, the roof being 
carried into the front end of the house on the southeast corner of 
High and Mystic streets. The gambrel-roofed house on the cor- 
ner of High and Brooks Streets is the old Teel house, somewhat 
remodeled. If we choose, we may take the electric car passing 
through this tree-embowered thoroughfare, but by so doing we 
would miss the heights at the right, finishing in old Mystic Mount, 
long a favorite outlook with old Medfordians, which, as Brooks 
wrote, was regarded by them somewhat as an "ancient member of 
a family." This is now a little public park, bearing the name of 
"Hastings's Heiglits." We may reach it through side streets 
at the right, — directly by the street next below Mystic Sti-eet. Its 
narrow rocky summit affords a pleasant view, but not so extensive 
and satisfactory as it would be were the near-by houses less 
obtrusive. From this park we should strike for the valley by 
way of Vei'non Street on the further side, bearing to the left and 
crossing by a footpath over the fields below, to the roadway close 
up to the station. For the beautiful trees adorning the older 
West Medford streets east of the railroad track, the inhabitants 
are indebted to the late Edmund T. Hastings, formerly of Cam- 
bridge, who personally superintended the setting out of them. 

Crossing the track and again in the park back of the station, let 
us now take the main highway, at the right, which is yet High 
Street, the thoroughfare having made a circuit across the railway 
track and around the park. As we enter the highway, note, at the 
right, the fine English-like field of the old Peter C. Brooks estate, 
which extends onward and around the high ground, bordering the 
Mystic Ponds for a mile or so, — one of the most extensive and 
beautiful estates round about Boston. The highway continues by 
well-favored suburban homes, and under the shade of fine trees, 
which we have observed are features of West Medford roads. The 
little park at the right, at the opening of Grove Street, is called the 



MEDFOBD. 



103 



" Delta," and the handsome trees which it incloses were planted 
in the 'oO's by Peter C. Brooks, then the head of the Brooks 




'pfeiyy.WWar- j 



Piece of Wall, along Grove Street, built by Slaves, 



manor, who set out numerous other roadside trees and much 
embellished his ancestral seat. Grove Street, in early days the 




Arch Bridge over old Canal Bed. 



104 



MEDFORD. 



"Road to the Woods," is delightful through its entire length — 
passing in picturesque curves over high ground, alongside of the 
Brooks estate, by " Baconville," to Symmes's corner in Winches- 
ter, making there connection with other highways. [See Walk 
No. 18.] Continuing on High Street below the Delta, we observe 
on the left side of the way a clump of willows at the lower corner 
of Boston Avenue. These are close to the site of a canal-house 
of the old Middlesex canal ; and opposite, from the right side of 
the roadway, we catch, through a lovely vista, a view of the old 
solid stone arch bridge spanning the bed of the canal, which passed 
through the Brooks estate. In the foreground this side of the arch, 
almost hidden in a nest of spruce trees, is an interesting Indian 
monument, Avliieh we may visit by permission of the farmer of 




Monument to Mystic Indians. 



the estate, whose house is on the street line. The monument is a 
shaft of rough granite bearing this inscription : — 

To 

Sagamore John. 

And to those 

Mystic Indians 

Whose bodies lie here. 

1G30-1884. 

Here are buried parts of several skeletons of Indians exhumed 
near by in 1882 during the work of grading for a new building ; and 
the monument was erected by Francis Brooks, whose children are 
the present owners of the estate. Twenty years before, very near 
this spot, the remnants of five Indian skeletons were found, together 
with the iron head of a fish-spear, a stone skin-dresser or knife, 
parts of a tobacco pouch, and a stone pipe with stem of rolled 
sheet-copper. One of these skeletons was perfect, and was sent by 
the late Edward Brooks, at that time the owner of the estate, to 



MEDFORD. 105 

Professor Agassiz, by whom it was put together and set up in the 
Museum at Cambridge. 

Sagamore John, chief of the Mystic tribe, died in 1633 of smallpox, at his 
dwelling-place on the point afterward known as Beacham's and later as the 
Van Vorhees farm, at the junction of the Mystic and Island End Rivers ; and 
was buried, with many of his people, by Samuel Maverick, whose house was at 
tliat time on the other side of Island End River, on the present Naval Hos- 
pital grounds. [See Walk No. 4.] He was friendly to the English settlers 
and apprised them of threatened attacks of unfriendly Indians. [Brooks.] 

It is but a few steps beyond the farmer's house to the finish of 
the Mystic Valley Parkway and the bridge at the Weirs below. 
Before the establishment of the Parkway, there was here a lovely 
field, entered from the roadway by a turnstile, over which a foot- 
path led to the banks of Mystic Lower Pond, and to one of the 
most charming rural walks in the neighborhood. It is now all 
changed, and in place of the pastoral Mystic Banks is the broad, 
modern " boulevard " extending across to Winchester. [See Walk 
No. 18.] From the bridge at the Weirs, where the pond enters 
the river, the view over the pond, with the gently rising, partly 
wooded, lands on the Arlington side, makes a pretty i:)icture. 

If we desire to extend our walk further we may continue along 
High Street toward Arlington, taking the footpaths, on the pond 
side, at the right from High Street, and shortly bearing toward 
the left, crossing to Mystic Street ; or keeping to High Street, com- 
ing out in each case in Arlington Centre. The Arlington pond-side 
walk is full of charm. If we take either of these ways Ave should 
return to Boston from Arlington Centre by either electric or 
steam cars. Otherwise, we should retrace our steps and return 
from the West Medford station by which we came. 



Arlington, Turkey Hill, Mystic Ponds. 

Boston to Arlington (from Bowdoin Square) through Cambridge by electric 
car, 65 miles ; by steam car [B. & M., S. Div.], 6 miles. Fare, electric car, 5 
cents; steam car, 13 cents. 

Walk a. [No. 16.] Leaving the electric car at junction of Massachusetts 
Avenue and Pleasant Street, or steam car at Arlington station : covers 
Pleasant Street and cross street to Spy Pond ; the shores of Spy Pond 
back toward Massachusetts Avenue ; the avenue (old Lexington road) from 
Cooper's Tavern past historic points to Arlington Heights ; the avenue back 
to Forest Street ; Forest Street to and over Turkey Hill ; country roads to 
Mystic Ponds ; the Partings (between upper and lower Mystic) to the Mystic 
Valley Parkway ; the Parkway direct or hill paths and Grove Street to High 
Street, West Medford ; High Street to the West Medford station [B. & M., 
S. Div.]. 

Walk b. [No. 17.] By Mystic Street to Mystic Ponds, along the rural path 
on the Lower Mystic side to the Partings, and by the Parkway along the Upper 
Mystic side to Mystic station, or Winchester station [B. & M., S. Div.] 

Arlington was a part of Cambridge until 1807. Its Indian name, which it 
held until after the Revolution, was Menotomy, from the narrow stream now 
known as Alewife Brook, a tributary of the Mystic River, which separates it 
from Cambridge and Somerville. From 1732 to 1807 it was the Second Parish 
of Cambridge. It was incorporated in 1807 as West Cambridge, and took 
its present name in 1867. It was the scene of the severest fighting of 
the British retreat from Concord and Lexington in 1775. Nearly half of the 
American killed fell in the struggle from the " Foot of the Rocks'' (near 
the western boundary) through the centre of the village, and along old Me- 
notomy Plain at the easterly end ; and the first British prisoners captured 
in the Revolution were taken here. It was long a place of extensive mar- 
ket gardens, but now, although there still remain a number of fine farms 
of this order, it is largely a suburban dwelling-place. It occupies a broad 
valley and picturesque hill slopes. Its loftiest hill, Arlington Heights 
(310 feet), near the southwestern boundary, commands a widely extended 
view ; and Turkey Hill, the second in height (200 feet), lies on the north 
side. Its jewel is Spy Pond, one of the loveliest pieces of water in a region of 
pleasant ponds. 

The ride from Boston to Arlington Centre by steam ear occu- 
pies about twenty minutes, by electric car forty-five minutes. 
The electric car lide is much the pleasanter, being mainly along 
the wide Massachusetts Avenue, well favored with trees through 
and beyond North Cainbridge, passing historic spots, and as the 
town is approached affording agreeable views. Beyond Porter's 
Station (North Cambridge), stone tablets marking points of inter- 
est connected with the first fight of the Revolution appear by the 
roadside. A glimpse of one of these is caught just above the 
church [Baptist] on the left, opposite Kidder Street, under a large 
elm. It marks a point where " four citizens were killed by 
British soldiers retreating from Lexington." This is within the 
limits of Cambridge, and was placed in 1880, when Cambridge 
celebrated its first quarter millennial. The first of the Arlington 
series is some distance beyond. Look for it after the car crosses 



ARLINGTON, TURKEY HILL, MYSTIC PONDS. 107 

the steam railroad tracks, and passes the venerable elm of large 
trunk, the survivor of two noble trees which for more than half a 
century formed the eastern gateway of the town. It api^eai's at 
the right side of the road on the outer edge of the sidewalk, in 
front of a house of modern pattern, marking the site of Wethei-- 
by's or the Black Horse Tavern, " where met the Committee of 
Safety in 1775." In this tavern the Committee of Safety and 
Supplies was in session on the evening before the British move on 
Lexington and Concord, and again in the forenoon on the historic 
Nineteenth, when Heath, who later in the day directed the hot 
attack on the retreating British along "Menotomy Plain," and 
presumably Warren, who was in the thick of the fight here, 
and lost the pin from the hair of his ear-lock by a British bullet, 
were present. Elbridge Gerry and Colonels Lee and Orne, three 
of the committee, "■ put up " at the tavern for the night, after the 
meeting of the evening of the 18th, and before daybi'eak they 
were surprised by the appearance of the king's troops on the high- 
way and barely escaped capture. 

Lieutenant-Colonel Smith's detachment passed the tavern on the march out 
from Boston at about two o'clock in the morning, and Gerry and his asso- 
ciates " arose from their beds to gaze on the unwonted spectacle." While 
thus engaged they were surprised by the approach of an officer and file to 
search the place, and half dressed hastily left by the back door. Gaining the 
fields behind the tavern, " they threw themselves flat on their faces among 
the stubble," and so lay concealed until the danger was passed. 

At this point at the left we have our fii-st view of Spy Pond 
and the chain of fair hills beyond ; and on the other side of the 
avenue pleasant distant views occasionally open as we ride along. 
The way grows more interesting as Arlington Centre is ap- 
proached. The soldiers' monument, at the junction of the avenue 
and Broadway from Somerville (the old Charlestown road), was 
placed in 1887, and upon the occasion of its dedication on the 17th 
of June that year the orator was Mr. John Q. A. Braekett, after- 
ward Governor of the State, and the poet, Mr. James T. Trow- 
bridge, both residents of the town. Old " Cooper's Tavern," the 
Arlington House of to-day, just beyond, is a relic of Revolution- 
ary days, reconstructed. 

Tlie car proceeds through the centre along the Lexington road 
(now a link in the thoroughfare of Massachusetts Avenue from 
Boston through Lexington) to the "Heights" about a mile and 
a quarter beyond. We leave it by the old church on the Pleasant 
Street corner, and begin our walk with a stroll about the village. 
The notable features are all within easy reach. The place where 
we alight is historic ground, as the tablet in front of the church 
g^een informs us : — 



108 ARLINGTON, TURKEY HILL, MYSTIC PONDS. 

At this spot 

on April 19, 1775, 

the old men of Menotoniy 

captured a convoy of 

eighteen soldiei's with supplies 

on its way to join 

the British at Lexington. 

These "old men of Menotomy " were the "exempts," patriots 

left behind by the minute-men as too old to serve at " the front," 

and they had the distinction of effecting- the first capture of the 

Revolution. 




Coojier's Tavern. 



Their " plan of campaign " was arranged at Cooper's Tavern, where they 
met immediately after word had come of the approach of the convoy, — Lord 
Percy's wagon train which had become separated from the main body of his 
troops on their outward march, — and the attack was led, tradition says, by 
Parson Piiillips Payson, of Chelsea, although this is disputed. The attacking 
party numbered about a dozen men. They took position behind a low stone 
wall on the opposite side of the road, and, when the train reached this 
point, suddenly rose, leveled their guns, and called upon the officer in charge 
to surrender. For answer, the drivers lashed their horses and strove to dash 
out of range. But the fire from the stone wall was quick and effective, four 
of the escort falling dead or wounded, and several of their horses being dis- 
abled. The survivors instantly scattered, leaving the officer alone. Several 
of them ran across the fields to Spy Pond, into which they threw their mus- 
kets. A half dozen, continuing their flight down the westerly bank of the 
pond, suddenly encountered an old woman digging dandelions, and to her 
imperious demand they straightway surrendered. " She led her captives to a 
neiglibor's house, and then delivered them up with tlie injunction to tell the 
story of their capture to their king." [Drake.] The present home of the 
author and poet, James T. Trowbridge, on the bank of the pond facing 
Pleasant Street, Drake assures us, was " the arena of Mother Batherick's 
exploit." The abandoned wagons were drawn by their captors into a hollow 
east of the present railway station, the dead horses were buried in a field near 
by, and the living ones were driven to Medford. 

The church across the green is interesting as the successor of 
the first meeting-house of the First Parish, organized in 1739, 
[now Unitarian], and as a good exami^le of the ecclesiastical 
architecture of the middle of the present century in New Eng- 



ARLINGTON, TURKEY HILL, MYSTIC PONDS. lU9 

land. The Town-House, opposite, is of the same period, — built in 
1852, five years after the church, — but far less attractive. Its best 
side is that which is jireseuted to the railway station, for the reason 
that it is well covered with ivy. A new Town-Hall, of modern 
architecture and embellishment, happily is contemplated. The 
finest specimen of the early nineteenth-century nxansion-house in 
the neighborhood is that set between cross streets southwest of the 
church ; the most notable schoolhouse is the well-designed building 
near by it ; and the chief architectural ornament of the town is the 




y^-vj^tftf;-^ 



The Robbins Memorial Library. 



Bobbins Memorial Library, the next neighbor of the church, hous- 
ing the oldest free library in the State. This building was erected 
in 1892 by Mrs. Maria C. Kobbins of Brookljai, New York, a native 
of the town, in memory of her husband, Eli Robbins, also born here. 



The architects, Cabot, Everett & Mead of Boston, have produced in this 
building an ambitious structure of buflf Amherst, Ohio, sandstone, in the 
Italian Renaissance style, with large window arclies, carved supporting pilas- 
ters, cornices, and lintels, and marble-faced open vestibule. The interior 
features are a reception hall, entered under vaulted arches supporting a 
rotunda extending to the top of the building, and terminating in a heavily 
gilded dome, resting on carved Corinthian columns, the walls of Iowa marble 
to the spring of the arches ; the gallery, above the arches, protected by balus- 
trade ; the reading-room at the left of the reception hall, with vaulted ceiling 
and groined window arches ; a smaller reading-room with circular end ; the 
book-room and librarian's room at the right of the reception hall ; the study 
in the second story ; a public lecture-room in the mezzanine story. The build- 
ing occupies the site of the homestead of a brother of Eli Robbins, and the 
mansion-house now on tlie cross street was moved back to make way for it. 

This library contains about 12,000 volumes. Its foundation was a small be- 
quest for a juvenile library for ijublic-school children received in 1835, under 
the will of Dr. Ebenezer Learned of Hopkiuton, New Hampshire, a native of 
Medford, who had spent his early life as a teacher in Menotomy, and was 
grateful for the "hospitality and friendship "' he enjoj-ed there as well .as an 
" uncommon share of patronage afforded " him. An annual appropriation 
has been made by the town for its support since 1837, and substantial gifts 
have been received from townspeople. It now enjoys the added income of 
the Elbridge Farmer fund of 850,000, given by Elbridge Farmer, a brother 
of Mrs. Robbins, also a native of the town. JVIiss Lizzie J. Newton has been 
the librarian for a number of years. 



110 ARLINGTON, TURKEY HILL, MYSTIC PONDS. 

Let us now cross the cliureh green, and, entering- Pleasant Street, 
visit the ancient burying-groimcl behind the church, in which are 
historic graves. Toward the fui'ther side, close to the main path 
(which follows the line of a brook once flowing through the yard), 
is the monument over the common grave of twelve of the twenty- 
two Americans who were killed within the hmits of Menotomy by 
the British soldiers on the retreat from Concord and Lexington. 
They were buried, we are told, "witho\it coffins, in the clothes 
they had worn when they fell." The low slate gravestone which 
was afterward placed above their remains, and now stands at the 
right of the monument, is thus inscribed : — 

Mr. Jason Russell was 

barbarously murdered in his own 

Home by Gage's bloody Troops 

on ye 19th of April, 1775. Etat 59. 

His body is quietly resting 

In this grave with Eleven 

of our friends, who, in like 

manner with many others, were 

cruelly Slain on tliat fatal daj'. 

Blessed are ye dead who die in ye Lord ! 

The monument, which bears date of 1848, was erected by a num- 
ber of the townspeople, Mr. Peter C. Brooks, of Medford, aiding 
by a generous subscription. Three only of the twelve who were 
buried here were Menotomy men. The British slain, upward of 
forty it was estimated, were buried in the ground near the brook, 
or in various parts of the town where they fell. Jason Russell's 
house still stands, but removed from its original site further back 
from Massachusetts Avenue. The site is indicated by a tablet on 
the sidewalk edge, which we shall pass on our way up the avenue 
to the Heights. Jason Russell was one of the principal men of 
Menotomy, and his farm and land covered a large territory. The 
two other Menotomy men buried in this common grave were 
Jabez Wyman and Jason Winship, two of the "exempts," who 
had participated in the successful attack on Percy's supply train. 
They were killed during the retreat at Cooper's Tavern, where 
they were caught unarmed and dispatched by bayonet, as the tab- 
let on the Medford Street side of the tavern relates. The remain- 
ing nine, whose names are not now known, were minute-men from 
various towns. When the grave was opened at the time of laying 
the foundation for the monument, seventy-three years after the 
hasty burial, the bones were found well preserved, together with 
a number of rusty buttons, a shot-pouch, and sonae flints, and they 
were then reinterred in a vault beneath the shaft. The full in- 
scription on the monument is as follows : — 



ARLINGTON, TURKEY HILL, MYSTIC PONDS. Ill 

Erected by the 

inhabitants of West Cambridge, 

A. D., 1848, 

over the common grave of 

Jason Russell, Jason Winship, Jabez Wyman, 

and nine others 

who were slain in this town by the 

British Troops 

on the retreat from the battle of 

Lexington and Concord, 

April 19, 1775, 

Being among the first to lay down their lives 

in the struggle for 

American Independence. 

Another interesting stone in this old yard is that over the grave 
of Amos Whitteniore, the inventor of the cotton and avooI card- 
making macliine, patented in 1797, and first worked in Menotomy. 
He was the grandson of Samuel Whittemore, whose extraordinary 
experience in the 19th of April fight is related on the tablet set up 
on Mystic Street, a few steps east of the railway station : — 

Near this spot 

Samuel Whittemore 

Then 80 years old 

Killed three British soldiers 

April 19, 1775. 

He was shot, bayoneted 

Beaten and left for dead. 

But recovered and lived 

To be 98 years of age. 

From the graveyard we turn again into Pleasant Street (the old 
Watertown road modernized), pleasant by nature as well as by 
name, and stroll down toward cross streets to the pond. High 




Spy Pond. 



over the broad roadway the branches of the noble trees which line 
it form for some distance a continuous arch, and on either side is a 



112 ARLINGTON, TURKEY HILL, MYSTIC PONDS. 

picturesque mixture of suburban and country houses. The estates 
are open to the street, without fence or wall, some with fair 
lawns, others with old-fashioned gardens, others with elaborately 
finished grounds. Those on the water side generally extend to 
the pond, toward which the land gently slopes. Back of some of 
them are winding lanes and footpaths leading to the water's edge. 







On Spy Pond Shore. 



One of the most picturesque of these estates is that of James T. 
Trowbridge, the poet and story writer, which lies close to the 
pond. The street continues pleasant all the way to Belmont, and 
is one of the favorite drives of this section. We may reach the 
public path skirting the pond by way of Addison Street, on 
the left of Pleasant Street (some way above the house of Trow- 
bridge), and following this path to the left we make the return 
to Massachusetts Avenue by back streets on the other side of 
the railroad track coming out on the avenue near the Arling- 
ton House. The pond path passes the chapel-like boat-house, 
the hospitable club-house of the Arlington Boat Club, and the 
" Menotomy Shore " House, where modest refreshment may be 
purchased, and boats hired for a sail on the lake. Note by the 
way the fine trees with vine-covered trunks at the foot of Addison 
Street, and the spreading willows at the water's edge where the 
boats are moored below the club-house. 

The walk along Massachusetts Avenue from the Pleasant Street 
junction to Arlington Heights is not especially interesting beyond 



ARLINGTON, TURKEY HILL, MYSTIC PONDS. 113 

the Jason Russell house site, and it might be better to cover this 
distance by car. There are, indeed, cheerful vieAvs along the waj', 
— of distant fields and cultivated uplands on the left, and on the 
right, the valley with occasional ghmpses of Vine Brook coursing 
through, and greater forest-covered hills beyond ; but these may 
be seen and enjoyed ahnost as well from the car, if it be an open 
one, as from the sidewalks. The Jason Russell house moved back 
from its original site, and turned sideways to the avenue, is the 
plain cottage, flanked by smart suburban dwellings on the left, 
just above Jason Street, about five minutes' walk from the church 
green. It has been curtailed since Revolutionarj^ times, but 
something of the old interior is yet preserved. The twelve minute- 
men, who, as the roadside tablet relates, were killed in this little 
farmhouse, in the April Nineteenth fight, were caught by one of 
the British flanking guards thrown out in advance of the retreat- 
ing column. 

They were mostly Danvers men who had been driven from their ambus- 
cade in the rear of the house, and had taken refuge within it, the road in 
front at that moment being filled with the main body of troops. " Russell 
himself," says the local historian, "was shot down at his own door, and was 
stabbed again and again with the bayonets of the pursuers as they rushed in 
killing every man they could find. Eight Americans escaped to the cellar. 
One soldier was shot on the cellar stairs, and his comrades dared venture no 
further; they plundered the house and went on." The Danvers men who 
were killed here were buried in their own town. 

Scattered along the highway, closely pressed with modern dwell- 
ings, are yet standing a few of the old farmhouses of the Provincial 
period ; and on one of the cross street corners, on the right, is the 
fine old shell of the "Great Tavern," afterward "Russell's," 
which was sacked and fired by the British on the retreat, but 
saved by the townspeople after the soldiers had passed on. Along 
Vine Brook w^ere once numerous mills, where are now but few, 
the pioneer of which was Cooke's Mill, set up as early as 1637, at 
the foot of the present Water Street, in early tinies known as 
" Captain Cooke's Mill-lane." This Captain Cooke was an impor- 
tant man in the colony ; a captain in the Cambridge company of 
the militia, a selectman, and a member of the General Court ; later, 
returning to England, he served as a colonel in Cromwell's army 
and lost his life in Ireland. On the left side of the avenue near 
the opening of Forest Street, at the right (where we are to turn 
for our rural walk to Turkey Hill and beyond, after we have 
"done" the Heights), is the Bobbins Spring house, a popular 
bicycle stopping-i^lace where spring water and other refreshments 
may be obtained. Arhngton Heights is easily mounted by the 
fine road called Park Avenue. From the broad summit we have 



114 ARLINGTON, TURKEY HILL, MYSTIC PONDS. 

a brilliant view of the surrounding country in its frame of hills, 
with Boston and the harbor in clear outline, at the east, and in 
other directions Monadnock, Wachusett, and more distant moun- 
tain ijeaks. The most extended i^rospect is from the water tower, 
which is open to the public on holidays and Saturdays. This hill 
was Circle Hill before a land company christened it Arlington 
Heights (in 1872), and at the time of the Revolution, and before, 
it was part of the chain of lovely elevations known as the Welsh 
Mountains. 

Returning to Massachusetts Avenue and going back to Forest 
Street, we take the latter street and turn our steps northward. 
After crossing the railway, the street becomes a charming country 
road winding over highlands from which are frequent picturesque 
vistas through the openings of the trees. Turkey Hill, rising in 
easy slopes at the right of the road, is soon reached. Following 
the cart-road which curves along the sides of the hill, and foot- 
paths mounting it gradually, we come to the summit. Here is a 
rocky tip well shaded, but sufficiently open to disclose a wide 
prospect of town and country beloAV. At the left lies Arlington in 
its fine setting ; in front are fair fields, woodlands, hills, and vales, 
and beyond the outlines of distant mountain tops ; at the right, 
stretches of woods, here and there broken by pastures and well- 
tilled farms. It is a less extensive view than that from the loftier 
Arlington Heights, but more diversified. The hill is used by the 
Signal Service. It is called Turkey Hill from the fact that once 
wild turkeys abounded here with other game, and it was a favorite 
hunting-ground . 

Instead of returning directly to the road, we may take a short 
cut through the piece of pine woods extending for some distance 
down the hillside, and meeting the road at a point farther on 
where it makes a turn. Of the roadway, by far the pleasantest 
part is beyond the forks, two miles from ArUngton according to 
the guide-board, where the regular Winchester road turns to the 
left, and ours becomes " Fruit Street." This street soon narrows 
into a peaceful lane-like way, thickly bordered with shrubs and 
vines and overhanging trees, meandering delightfidly up and 
doAvn. When it broadens again and reaches a high point, a lovely 
view opens just beyond an old farmhouse at the left, embracing 
the upper Mystic, parts of Winchester, and neighboring towns at 
the north of Boston. The road has now become Oak Street, and 
it is but a" short distance to its finish at a part of the old Mystic 
Street now abandoned. 

Here we turn to the right to cross over to the modern Mystic 
Avenue, and therefrom to enter the grounds of the Water Works. 



ARLINGTON, TURKEY HILL, MYSTIC PONDS. 115 

The most direct way is across the farm which lies between the two 
roads, but this is private property, and we must make a ''loop," 
pjissing down the old road a few rods to its junction with the 
avenue, and then back along- the avenue to the opening of the 
Water Works road. The latter is not a public thoroughfare, but 
it is hospitably opened to carriages, bicycles, and foot-passers. It 
makes a circuit through the pleasant inclosure to the dam at 
" The Pai"tings," between the upper and lower Mystic, and thence 
to the eastern side, affording, on the approach to The Partings, 
an extended view of the upper pond and the country bordering it. 
Of the lower pond the fiUlest and prettiest view is obtained from 
or just below The Partings, — a scene of quiet beauty, more urban 




The Lower Mystic Pond, from The Partmgs. 



than that of the upper pond region, the right banks, slightly 
elevated above the meadows, being more thickly occupied by 
estates, and through and above the trees in the background ap- 
pearing the house-tops and church spires of the town. The fish- 
way at The Partings on the upper pond is maintained by the 
Massachusetts Fish Commission. Before the upbuilding of the 
dam. The Partings was a most picturesque spot. Wild grapes 
then grew in thick vines among the trees along the shore. 

The Mystic Pond, formerly Medford Pond, was originally about three miles 
in circumference, half a mile wide, and eighty feet deep at the deepest part, 
divided into nearly equal parts by a shoal called The Partings from earliest 



116 ARLINGTON, TURKEY HILL, MYSTIC PONDS. 

times, where once was a road. The pond is the source of the Mystic River, 
and its only fresh-water tributaries are Alewife Brook, rising in Lexington 
and flowing through Arlington, and the Aberjona River from Winchester. 
When it was taken for the water supply of Charlestown in 1861, the upper 
part was enlarged, overflowing the bordering meadowlands, to an area of 
two himdred acres : and the stone dam at the Partings was built, excluding 
the tide from this part. The Water Works were completed in the autumn of 
1864, and passed to the control of the City of Boston with the annexation of 
Charlestown in 1874, becoming a branch of the Boston system. From this 
pond the Charlestown District, and the cities of Somerville, Chelsea, and 
Everett are now supplied. The reservoir is on College Hill, and the pumping- 
station at the foot of the hill near the Mystic River in West Medford. Be- 
fore it was taken for water works, the pond was a favorite resort with fish- 
ermen, and in the early days of the Colony shad and alewives were among 
the fish in abundance here. 

Our course is now to the right along the Parkway on the left side 
of the lower pond, reached through the gateway of the Water 
Works road. Or if we find the Parkway, with its broad treeless 
surface, monotonous, we may take the uplands on the further side 
and here follow foot-paths, or strike across to rural Grove Street. 
The Parkway takes the place of a narrow grassy plain fringed with 
tree and bush to the water's edge, picturesquely uneven and well- 
wooded hillocks rising on the land side, and the bed of the old 
Middlesex Canal distinctly outlined a good part of the way. Not 
a few of those who knew the place in its pastoral days, which con- 
tinued to the very beginning of the Parkway construction, regret 
the change, while they rejoice that the beavities of the region are 
thus opened and made accessible to the general public. While 
they miss the footpaths along the banks rich in flora, the thick 
side woods, and the broken lines of the side hills, they find the 
pond views yet charming, and, as the West Medford end by the 
Weirs is approached, still remaining the masses of reeds and rushes 
against the curving shores which gives this part a finishing charm. 

The English-like country-seat of the Brooks family which spreads 
back from the side hills, and originally included Mystic Banks, is 
shut off from the Parkway by stout wire fencing, but something of 
its attractions can be gathered through glimpses beyond the fencing, 
especially toward the end of the Parkway. Along the highland 
paths, toward the railroad and Grove Street, is to be found much 
early May flora, — the violet, anemone, buttercup, columbine, 
wild strawberry, blueberry. By either Grove Street or the Park- 
way we reach High Street ; and thence, to the left, our way is 
direct to the West Medford station, from which return trip to 
Boston is made by steam car. The way along High Street between 
the Parkway and the station is also covered in Walk No. 15 
[West Medford], in the description of which note is made of its 
features. 



ARLINGTON, TURKEY HILL, MYSTIC PONDS. 117 

Walk h. From Arlington to Winchester, by way of Mystic 
Street and the banks of Mystic Ponds. This is a short walk start- 
ing from Arlington Centre by the railway station. Mystic Street 
opens from the north side of Massachusetts Avenue, and goes on to 
Winchester. We are to follow it for a mile or so to cross streets 
leading down to the Lower Mystic Pond, then take the shore path 
around to the Partings, there cross over to the further shore of the 
Upper Mystic, and thence enter the Parkway which is to be 
followed to the finish of the walk at Mystic station, or the Win- 
chester station, a half mile or so beyond. 

Along Mystic Street, on the outskirts of the village, we pass 
some of the older market gardens of Arlmgton, pleasant modern 
dwellings, and country-places. On the left pleasing views are 
occasionally had across gardens and fields to a picturesque back- 
ground of hills. In a curve of the road, looking down Glen Avenue, 
at the right, and over a little valley, we get the first fair glimpses 
of the pond (the Lower Mystic) glinting through a distant band of 
trees. Glen Avenue would lead us to the shore path, which skirts 
almost the entire length of the Arlington side of the pond, but a 
pleasanter way is beyond, by Fairview Avenue. Reaching the 
latter we turn into it upon a grassy sidewalk, and shortly are in 
rural parts. The avenue soon becomes a road, and then a footpath 
passing down a sharp tree-covered slope to a junction with the 
shore path. Here is a primitive wharf for rowboats, from which 
we have a pretty water view framed in curving lines of shore. We 
take the shore path at the left, as we entered from Fairview 
Avenue. In both directions, however, it is inviting, at the right 
making off into an avenue of trees into what seems to be as pleasant 
a region as that at the left. And so it is, for some distance ; but 
it may be reserved for a by-walk, — across to Medford Street and 
the Weirs, where, at the bridge, Medford Street in Arlington 
becomes High Street in West Medford. 

Our shore path walk grows lovelier as we proceed. For the most 
part the path keeps close to the water's edge, winding with the 
winding shore line. Now it follows the ridge of a bluff, now passes 
through water-side groves, cuts through narrow openings in fences 
to the pond's brink dividing estates, skirts pleasant fields. It is 
essentially rural throughout, with springing turf, borders of bush 
and vine, and a continuous fringe of trees affording refreshing 
shade. The path finishes in the Water Works road, coming down 
from Mystic Street, close to the dam at The Partings, which our 
Walk a covered. 

Crossing The Partings, we approach the Parkway at the left, 
instead of the right as in Walk a, by way of the Upper Mystic 



118 ARLINGTON, TURKEY HILL, MYSTIC PONDS. 

shore on the further side of the Water Works building, the Park- 
way being behind the bhiff . We enter it from the first opening 
from the shore, at the right. The walk onward is in marked con- 
trast with that which we have followed along the Arlington banks, 
but it has its charms. The broad way skirts the pond side to its 
finish at the Bacon estate where it crosses the artistic bridge, and 
takes the line of the Aberjona River, to Winchester village [see 
Walk No. 18]. If we prefer to go on to the village we cross the 
railroad by the road bridge (Bacon Street) and take the Parkway 
at the back of Mystic station, or follow the footpath from Mystic 
station along the right side of the railroad, joining the Parkway 
at a point further on by the foot-bridge over the river. Beyond 
Mystic station the Parkway passes through a grove of splendid 
oaks, well on in years, being on the extensive Symmes's farm. 



Winchester and Woburn. 

Boston to Winchester, by steam car [B. & M., S. Div.], 8^ miles. Fare to 
Mystic station, 15 cents ; to Winchester proper, IG cents. By electric car, 
from Scollay Square, by way of Medford (change at Medf ord Square), 8^ miles ; 
fare, 10 cents. 

Boston to Woburn, by steam car [B. & M., S. Div.], 10.3 miles. Fare to 
Woburn Centre, 20 cents; to North Woburn, 25 cents; to Mishawum, 25 
cents; to Cross Street, 18 cents. 

Walk a [No. 18]. In Winchester. Beginning at Mystic station, embraces 
a section of the Parkway by the Aberjona River side to Mystic Ponds ; Grove 
Street on the upland ; Symmes's Corner ; Winchester Centre ; Wasliington 
Street to Winchester Highlands ; the John Harvard allotment ; Cross Street 
to Main Street from Woburn ; Horn Pond Brook crossing ; the rural region 
in Wedge Pond neighborhood ; Rangeley ; Church and Cambridge Streets. 
Return from Winchester station. 

Walk b [No. 19]. In Woburn. Begins at North Woburn station. Features 
along the way : Birthplace of Count Rumford ; the Baldwin mansion-house ; 
the Winn homestead ; Hungry Plain ; Mt. Plainum ; Rag Rock ; Cummings- 
ville ; the Kendall mills region ; domain of Captain Edward Johnson, " the 
Father of Woburn ; " Listening Hill ; Shaker Glen; Lexington Street ; Mili- 
tary Lane ; the Woburn Public Library ; Woburn Centre. Return from 
Woburn Centre station. 

Walk c [No. 20]. Begins at Mishawum station. Features : Richardson's 
Pond, head of the Aberjona River region ; " New Boston ; " old houses at 
Ames's Corner and on rural New Boston Street ; Woburn Forest Park ; land- 
marks of Main Street ; Mt. Gilboa ; the ancient buryiug-grounds at the 
Centi-e ; Meeting-house HiU. Return from Woburn Centre station. 

Walk d [No. 21]. Begins at Cross Street station. Features : Horn Pond 
Mountain ; Horn Pond ; field and wood walk to Zion's Hill ; rural way toward 
Lexington ; Munroe's Meadow and the brook. Return from Munroe station, 
Lexington. 

The portion of Winchester embraced in the Middlesex Fells is covered in 
Walk No. 10, starting at the Winchester Entrance to the Fells. 

Winchester, as the tablet on the clock-tower of its town-house informs ns, 
was " Waterfield 1638 — Charlestown Village 1G40 — Winchester 1850." The 
" Waterfield allotments" when laid out were in the wilderness within the 
bounds of Charlestown, and embraced the greater part of what was afterward 
South Woburn, and tlie vicinity about Horn Pond, Woburn. Winchester was 
formed (iucorp. April 30, 1850) in large part from South Woburn, with 
pieces of Medford on one side, and of West Cambridge, now Arlington, on 
tlie other. Its situation in the lovely valley of the Mystic is exceptionally 
picturesque. Pleasant elevations above the valley, the lake-like Upper Mys- 
tic Pond, Wedge Pond and Winter Pond, the Aberjona River coming down 
from Woburn to the Upper Mystic, tree-bordered roads, groves off from the 
roadsides, and bits of woods are among its landscape features. The name of 
Winchester was selected from a number sugge.sted at the time of the forma- 
tion of the town — Waterfield, Avon, Channing, Winthrop, Appleton, and 
Winchester — for the reason that Colonel William P. Winchester, a wealthy 
resident of Watertown, had offered to give a sum of money to be expended 
for a town-house, or other municipal work. Colonel Winchester died scarcely 
three months after his gift was made. Winchester is attractively built, many 
of its houses displaying good taste and beauty in architectural design ; and in 
its clusters of modern structures are here and there old-fashioned dwellings 
and family seats which wear their years with becoming dignity. The to\vn 
forms the western gateway to the Middlesex Fells. 



120 WIXCHESTER AXD W OB URN. 

Woburn was the first of the towms set off from Chai-lestown, and originally 
included, besides the larger part of Winchester, the present towns of Wil- 
mington and Burlington on the north and northwest, the former taken from 
its territory as earl)' as 1730, and the latter in 1799. The exact date of its 
incorporation was September '27. 1642. It was named for Woburn in Bedford- 
shire, England, in honor of "Noble Captain Sedgwick," the chairman of the 
committee appointed by the town of Charlestown, in 1640, to set the bounds 
of the new town, and one of its chief founders, who came from the English 
Woburn. This name was selected by Sedgwick's friend and admirer, Captain 
Edward Johnson, the early historian of tlie Colony, who was the leader of the 
founders of the town, Frothingham calling him '"the Father of Woburn." 
He was the first town recorder or clerk, and in the early records, which are 
fortunately preserved, gave minute details of the development of the settle- 
ment. In his colonial liistory, the "Wonder-Working Providence of Sion's 
Saviour," he thus describes the place : " The situation of this town is in the 
highest part of the yet peopled land. ... It is very full of pleasant springs 
and great variety of very good water, which the summer's heat causeth to be 
more cooler, and the winter's cold maketh more warmer. Their meadows 
are not large, but lie in divers places to particular dwellmgs, the like doth 
their springs. Their land is very fruitful in many places, although they have 
no great quantity of plain land in any one place, yet doth their rocks and 
swamps yield very good food for cattle." Although Woburn has been a city 
since 18SS (incorp. May IS, 1888), it yet retains much of the charming 
country look which characterized it as a rural town. It has numerous pic- 
turesque heights, notably Rig Rock, Mt. Gilboa, Mt. Pleasant, — the English 
Hills of ante-Revolutionary times, — Horn Pond Mountain, Listening and 
Whispering Hills ; lovely glades and glens ; fair ponds ; and the Aberjona 
River, meandering through meadows and fields on its tranquil waj- to the 
Mystic in Winchester ; pleasant woods, rich groves, and shady streets, which 
have won for it the name of the '• City of Trees." Woburn is distinguished 
as the birthplace of Colonel Loammi Baldwin, of Revolutionaiy fame, one of 
the makers of the Middlesex Canal, and the introducer of the toothsome 
"Baldwin" apple; of his eminent sou, Loammi, 2d, the "father of civil 
engineering in America ; " and of the celebrated Benjamin Thompson, after- 
ward Sir Benjamin, and later Count Rumford. In its Public Library and Art 
Gallery, known as the Winn Memorial, it possesses one of the best specimens 
of the architect Richardson's work in refilled public buildings ; and it has a 
number of choice, old historic houses. Woburn is locally divided into six 
sections : the Centre, Cummingsville, North Woburn, Mishawum, Walnut Hill, 
and Montvale. 

Walk a. We leave tlie train at Mystic station and start from 
the left side of the track. The street above the railroad here con- 
nects the two sections of the Mystic Valley Parkway, which extends 
from Winchester Centre to Mystic Banks and West Medford, fol- 
lowing the Aberjona River on the other side of the railroad to 
this street, then taking* the right side beyond, the river crossing 
imder the railroad, and entering Mystic Pond near by. Our walk 
begins on the right side parkway. We may reach the street 
either by the steps directly from the station platform, or by the 
plank walk over the field. Let us take the latter, coming out on 
the street at a point opposite the lower parkway opening. Here 
■we enter a pleasant region, but bereft of much of the beauty it 
once possessed, through its transformation, in part, from a private 
rural estate to a modern residential quarter, in which the pic- 
turesque outlines of its undulating surface have been changed, and 



WINCHESTER AXD WOBURN. 



121 



many noble trees sacrificed. The parkway bends to the left to- 
ward the river brink ; then takes the bank sweeping close up to a 
serene old mansion-house ; then curves to the bridge which crosses 
the point where the river makes into the pond ; thence reaches 
Mystic Banks, and so spreads along the full length of the upper 
and lower ponds to the "Weirs" at the bridge between West 
Medford and Arlington. [See Walk No. 16.] 

We keep to the parkway but a short distance — only through 
the old estates into which it cuts, and over the bridge to the road 
dipping under the railroad bridge. The mansion-house by which 
it passes, dating from about 1830, was before its construction the 
centre-piece of a lovely spot. Trees here abounded. There were 
the old-fashioned, moss-grown brick walks, through an old gar- 
den ; masses of shrubbery on the river line ; on a mound close 
to the water a group of magnificent willows which artists loved 
to sketch ; an old orchard covering the slope toward the bridge. 
Years ago the river here was dammed, and the music of the water- 
fall gave peculiar charm to the place. All tliis is now gone. The 
waterfall was stilled by the blasting of the dam some tune after 
the raising of the Mystic Pond, and the overflowing of fair mead- 
ows, for the Mystic Water Supplj- ; and now, in place of the old 
trees and the rural surroundings, is the broad, sumiy " boulevard " 
pushing intrusively almost to the steps of the old house. In 













The Aberjona River at Mystic. 



Indian times these grounds were occupied by Indian camps. Ac- 
cording to some authorities this region was on the outskirts of the 
reservation of the Squaw Sachem, the widow of Xanepashemit, 
Sachem of the Pawtuekets, who was killed by the fighting Tar- 
ratihes sweeping up from the Penobscot in theii* war canoes in 
1619. This reservation lay mainly on the west side of the pond. 



122 



WINCHESTER AND WOBURN. 



Taking the old road under the raUroad bridge we stroll up the 
steep hill to beautiful Grove Street, the rural road from West Med- 
ford, passing by the Brooks domain. [See Walk No. 15.] Turn- 
ing here to the left, a short walk along the shaded way, by attractive 
estates, brings us to ancient Symmes's Corner, where this street 














I I ■ "SS:: 








Symmes's Corner. 



ends, and three roads meet. The thoroughfare over which the 
street car lines run is Main Street : that part at the right being 
the old road to Medford, that at the left the old road to Woburn 
leading through Winchester village ; and the first road at the left, 
from Grove Street, making down the hill, is Bacon Street, which 
we crossed from Mystic station to the parkway. 

Symmes's Corner is within the allotment of land to Zachariah 
Symmes, the minister of Charlestown, made in 1638, — four years 
before Woburn was marked out, when this was a wilderness, — a 
portion of which has remained in the possession of the Symmes 
family from that time. The original grant covered three hundred 
acres, extending over to Mystic Pond. Later enlarged by three 
hundred more acres, the Symmes's farm became one of the rich- 
est in the settlement. The house which marks the Corner, now 
crowded by too near neighbors, is locally called the old Deacon 
Symmes house. The grander mansion-house of Captain John 
Symmes, a soldier of the Revolution, long stood at the junction of 
Grove and Bacon streets. It was burned in 1864. At an earlier 
date the homestead of Caleb Brooks, birthplace of Governor 
Brooks, was here. The tall-trunked elms, towering above their 
neighbors, by Bacon Street, have stood since early days, and yet 
are rich-leaved. 



WINCHESTER AND W OB URN. 



123 



From Syrames's Corner, we turn into the old Wobiirn Road, or 
Main Street, now a handsome way of pleasant residences, not too 
close together, by which Winchester Centre is reached. Just be- 
yond the Corner note the broad view over the neatly trimmed 
market garden occnpjdng a hollow, to the distant range of Arling- 
ton hills. Fifteen minutes brings us to the jimction with Washing- 
ton Street, and the turn of Main Street to the Centre at the left. 
Around the bend, about opposite the side of the Unitarian Church, 
the old Black Horse Tavern used to stand, its site now marked by 
the house of Mr. George F. Fosdick. This Avas a famous inn of 
stage-coaching days, and an early Revolutionary rendezvous. It 
was a wide-spreading building, with ample grounds, including the 
Black Horse farm, and great stables for coaching teams and the 
huge " goods wagons " which regularly traveled the " Great Road " 
of which this was a part, constituting the highway between Boston 










Winchester Town Hall and Public Library Building. 

and New Hampshire. The neighborhood about the tavern was 
long called Black Horse Village. The house stood an ancient 
landmark until about 1892, occupied as a dwelling after its aban- 
donment as an inn in the fifties. Keeping to Washington Street, 
the next turn to the right is Mt. Vernon Street leading into the 
Middlesex Fells [see Walk No. 10], and that to the left, Pleas- 
ant Street, upon which is the chief architectural monument of the 
town — the well-designed Town Hall and Public Library build- 



124 WINCHESTER AND WOBURN. 

iug, in a picturesque situation beside the Aberjona River, and 
near the site of the first house and the first mill in the settlement, 
both built by Edward Converse in 1640. 

The To^^-n Hall and Public Library was built in 1886, from plans by Rand & 
Taylor, architects, Boston. The shape of the lot, an elongated triangle, 
required a peculiar and unusual ground plan, long and rambling, so that the 
structure was designed in a free Romanesque style. As the building is 
approached from the railroad station, the mass, dominated by the lofty clock- 
tower, is strong and impressive. The large assembly-hall, with galleries and 
the police-station in the basement story, occupies the end toward the station ; 
the central portion, with entrance through a picturesque two-story loggia, 
is used by the various town officers ; and the extreme end is the Public 
Library section. The latter is arranged after the best models, and is well 
lighted by a large arched window in the gable end and high stack windows. 
The inside finish is Georgia pine, the floors rift hard pine. The heating is 
indirect, operated by a fan. The general effect of the building is picturesque, 
dignified, and good as a mass, from any point of view. 

The Winchester Public Library has developed from a village library founded 
in 1848, which was presented to the town in 1859, under certain conditions, 
for public use. In the Library wing is an historical room occupied by the 
Winchester Historical and Genealogical Society, in which is a set of cai-ved 
oak furniture, cabinet, table, and chairs, made and finished on the site of the 
pioneer mill of Edward Converse, and by the same water-power that he used. 
The furniture was given to the society in commemoration of Converse, by the 
wife of a descendant, Mrs. Edward S. Converse of Maiden. 

Returning now to Washington Street we are to follow this street 
for a mile or more to North Winchester (or Winchester Highlands, 
the modern name), close by the Woburn line, to the lands allotted 
to John Harvard, the young minister of Charlestown, whose name 
Harvard College bears. Along this street runs the electric line 
between Winchester and Stoneham (Mystic Valley line), making 
the turn Stoneham-ward into Forest Street, at the right, near the 
Harvard lands toward which we are bent. Washington Street, 
like the other roads through which we have been strolling, is a 
pleasant way, plentifully supplied with trees. Here and there are 
old-time houses mingled with the new, and on the right we have a 
continuous view of the highlands of the Fells, with house-tops 
above the trees in the foreground, marking the line of Highland 
Street, one of the finest of the newer Winchester roads. The old 
estate on the left, as Cross Street (near the turn of the street car 
line) is approached, is that of Nathaniel A. Richardson (a descen- 
dant of Samuel Richardson, one of the earliest settlers) who is 
one of the best-informed men in Winchester on early local history 
and topography. The Harvard lands are just above the opening of 
Cross Street: at least so says tradition, backed by the evidence of 
ancient deeds brought to light by Judge Edward F. Johnson, of 
Woburn (a lineal descendant of Captain Edward Johnson, the leader 
of the founders of Woburn). 

In the " Abstracts of Early Woburn Deeds Recorded in Middlesex County 
Registry, 1649-1700," by Judge Johnson, is given a copy of a deed, without 



WINCHESTER AND W OB URN. 125 

date, from Joanna Richardson, administratrix of the estate of her husband, 
Samuel, to her eldest son, John, of dwelling-house, barn, orchard, and laud, 
lying in Woburn, abutting to Jones (a contraction for Aberjona) River, north- 
east, the Buck Meadows northwest, and to land of John Harvard, southeast. 

This allotment was made to Harvard among the first ones marked out, in 
1638, and contained about 120 acres. It adjomed that of Tliomas Graves, the 
" rear admiral," of Cromwell times, who was one of the seven commissioners 







John Harvard Lands. 

for the founding of Woburn ; and subsequently Graves bought it, possibly 
from Harvard's widow. From the Graves family it came iuto the possession 
of one of the Richardson brothers (Ezekiel, Thomas, and Samuel, all of them 
of the seven commissioners), and a part of the territory stiU remains in the 
Richardson family. The " Buck Meadow " was the meadow land in the val- 
ley of the Aberjona, a little way northward between Burbank's Pond and 
Richardson's Pond. 

The old house above the Forest Street corner, on the right, is 
another Richardson house, and is supposed to be upon or near the 
site of the original homestead here after the clearing of the 
grounds. From the road in front of this house, looking west and 
northwest, we have a pastoral landscape, of wide-spreading field 
and distant hills, — Mt. Pleasant, or the English Hills, as the 
range was called before the Revolution [see Walk No. 19], being 
fullest in view ; while the road itself, turning beyond off to the 
right, apparently into woodland, makes a pretty picture. 

Back to Cross Street we now bend our steps westward on our 
way across country and around to the further side of Winchester 
Centre. Cross Street connects North Winchester with Main Street 
in Woburn, in the near neighborhood of the Horn Pond region. 
It passes by the Winchester Highlands station on the main line 
of the railroad, and, further along, by Cross Street station on the 
" loop line " through Woburn Centre. The road is picturesque in 
parts, and inviting for its lead toward rural ways. 

A short stroll on rising ground brings us to a broad open at the 
left through which we have a fair view over the Aberjona valley, 



126 WINCHESTER AND W OB URN. 

with Hillcrest and other Fells heights forming the background of 
the picture. Some distance beyond we pass, on the other side of 
the road, a fine belt of pine and red oak woods, with a road line 
of maples. Bearing to the left the road again crosses an open and 
approaches an inviting wooded elevation, known as Russell's Hill, 
on that side. The hill being in our direction suppose we leave the 
road and make a cross-cut over it. We shall find a footpath 
leading thither and along the hillside. It is a rocky hillock, the 
summit cedar-covered, and affords refreshing shade after our 
open road-walk. Leaving it by the western slojie, we cross to the 
railroad track, and, following the track to the south, shortly come 
to an opening toward the main road on the right — Main Street 
from Woburn. If we hold to Cross Street instead of making this 
cross-cut (and it is to be remembered that the raih'oad is not a 
thoroughfare, and we walk it at our perU, while the hill, j^artly 
wire-fenced, is private ground), we shall enter Main Street a little 
way above, near the Cross Street station. 

Our rule being to avoid highways as much as possible, we take 
the most inviting cross way, from Main Street, at the right. This 
is a short street, by the side of an ancient house on a bluff facing 
the highway. The house is another Richardson homestead, for- 
merly occupied by Caleb Richardson and built about the year 1710. 
Its site is also historic, being within the bounds of the original grant 
to Ezekiel Richardson, one of the seven commissioners to lay out 
Waterfield lands, in 1G38. Although somewhat remodeled and 
strengthened throughout by its present owner, Mr. George G. 
Stratton, it retains much of its early appearance, — resembling in 
style old Plymouth county houses dating from Pilgrim days, — 
and makes a pleasing picture in a neighborhood of very modern 
structures. 

We are now heading for Wedge Pond, and Wedgmere, the 
modern name for its neighborhood, a half a mile or so westward. 
Following the pleasant street into which we have turned we soon 
reach a rural quarter about an old organ factory. Taking here a 
well-worn footi^ath directly from the street, and cutting through a 
little grove, we suddenly enter a dainty dell. The path pushes 
through tangled thickets and vines doAvn to a bit of woods and a 
brook over whicli it is carried by a single plank bridge. Thence 
it continues a little way further on, by clumps of alders and wild 
bush, to an open field. The brook is Horn Pond Brook, and it 
connects Horn Pond in Woburn Avith Wedge Pond toward which 
we are making. It enters the dell by a graceful bend across 
meadows, and babbles along in and out of the trees and rich under- 
growth, then, shortly turning, passes out of view, lost apparently 



WINCHESTER AND W OB URN. 



127 



in a tangle of verdure. Following our path to its finish and cross- 
ing the open, diagonally, we now take the road, lined — on the 
inner side — with tenements of factory or tannery operatives, and 
keep it for a few rods toward the tannery ahead. Barring the tene- 
ments, which are not beautiful, it is a pleasantly placed road, Avith 
the open on one side extending to the curving Une of trees marking 



\tmtm 




I / 'fife 












The Brook iu the Gleu. 



rr^/ic^r/s-Ev^'Vr 



the hrook-way, and on the other, back of the tenements, a splendid 
hiUside grove. Before we are quite to the tannery, we strike a 
wood road at the right, which is our way to Wedge Pond and 
Wedgmere. It leads along the lower edge of the rising grove-land, 
and shortly reaches the picturesque cemetery of Winchester, well 
named Wildwood, through which are numerous pleasant driveways 
and paths. We come upon the pond, on the left side of the road, 
gradually, catching glimpses of it through the noble trees which 
adorn its sloping banks. Wood paths lead dowTi to the water's 



128 WINCHESTER AND W OB URN. 

edge. It is a small pond set in an attractive frame of shore with 
bordering estates. 

Wildwood Street takes tis from this woody region to Cambridge 
Street, another old thoroughfare coming down from Woburn and 
extending toward Arlington, and into a fine residential quarter. 
We stroll along this broad avenue to Church Street, — the 
" Driver's Lane " of 1646, and to-day one of the fairest of suburban 
streets, — and thence enter " Rangeley," or continue direct to the 
railway station. Along Cambridge Street we pass an old house or 
two ; and as we turn into Church Street, we come close to the spot 
where tradition says was the wigwam set up by Captain Edward 
Johnson in 1645, or thereabouts, on his " parcel of land near Plain 
Street," the earlier name for this part of Cambi^idge Street. 
Lying along Church Street, in the part where now is the Abijah 
Thompson estate, was the farm of the early settler, Licrease 
Nowell, one of the court of assistants with Governor Winthrop 
and the first magistrate of Charlestown. " Rangeley " is a quarter 
of English park-Hke characteristics, on rolling highland embel- 
lished with masses of stately trees, which extends across toward 
Mystic, having its outlet on a short street parallel with Bacon 
Street. The walk along its main road is a pleasing one, and may 
be taken for the entire length if we choose to return by way of 
the Mystic station where we started. But if we hold to our original 
plan, to return from Winchester Centre Station (which is the better 
one, for we may loiter about the adjoining Common while waiting 
for the train), we stroll into this quarter and not through it : far 
enough, however, to see its beauty. 

This walk might well be extended, or a supplementary one 
taken, farther along Cambridge Street to the west side of the 
Mystic. Some distance beyond Church Street, on the left side of 
the road, lies the Everett estate, owned and occupied by Edward 
Everett at the time of his death, as his summer seat. It was in 
his day a beautiful place, adorned with a rich variety of shade 
trees, and with gardens and orchard ; and the mansion-house, still 
standing near the pond side, of dignified air, spacious and ample 
throughout, has received many distinguished guests. The side 
road, a rural way in parts, is named Everett Avenue (would that 
it had been called road instead) in honor of Mr. Everett. This 
estate, like those on the northeasterly side of the enlarged pond, 
was curtailed and despoiled by the raising of the water for the 
Charlestown water supply about the year 1865. The anxiety 
caused by this matter, with the resulting lawsuit, hastened Mr. 
Everett's death, which occurred suddenly, as may be remembered, 
shortly after the delivery of his appeal at the Faneuil Hall meeting 



WINCHESTER AND W OB URN. 129 

in aid of the suffering people of Savannah, in January, 1865. The 
wigwam of the Squaw Sachem, in the midst of her reservation, 
stood on the ground of the Everett estate, tradition says, in l(3o9. 
Farther on, into Mystic Street, the region is reached into which 
Walk No. IG extends. And beyond we can take the pond-banks, 
along which narrow footpaths wander delightsomely. [See Walk 
No. 17.] This walk would end naturally in ArHngton ; but from 
the pond-banks we can reach High Street, and, taking the left 
turn, cross the Weirs and so continue on to the West Medford sta- 
tion ; or taking the right turn come out in Arlington Centre. If 
we elect to ride instead of to walk, we can make the distance 
covered by both of these walks — the regular and the supple- 
mentary one — in an afternoon, leaving our carriage or wheel to 
" do " the features which can only be covered on foot. 

Walk h. Starting from the North Woburn station, left side, we 
take Nichols Street to Main Street, and Main Street to Elm, thus 
reaching directly one of the most notable features of historic interest 
in Woburn, — the birthplace of Count Rumford. Ten minutes brings 
us to this treasured landmark. Along the way we see from Nichols 
Street, at the right, the bed of the old Middlesex Canal, and we pass 
a house or two of ancient date. That on the southerly corner of 
Nichols and Main streets is the Tay-Nichols house, dating from 
about 1730, the homestead for many years of Major Samuel Tay, 
who was a captain in the Revolution, from 177G to 1784. He com- 
manded a company of Woburn men who marched in June, 1776, for 
Ticonderoga and remained there in service for five months. He 
was Major Tay from 1784 to 1797, and died in this house in 1804. A 
short distance up Main Street, to the right, is the Lilley-Eaton 
house, a modest mansion-house of the mid eighteenth-century 
period. 

The Count Rumford birthplace is but a few rods from the Main 
Street corner, a house of plain and simple exterior, standing well 
back from the roadway, with an old well-sweep at one side. It is 
of wood, solidly built, the interior showing the stout oaken beams of 
its frame. It dates from about 1714, and in all the years that have 
passed it has suffered little change in general appearance. It was 
originally the farm-house of the Pierce farm, owned at one time by 
x\aron Cleveland 2d, ancestor of President Cleveland, and in 1729 
bought by Captain Ebenezer Thompson, grandfather of Count 
Rumford. Rumford, born Benjamin Thompson, made his advent 
into the world in the year 1753, in the west lower front room, now 
occupied by the Rumford Library. This is also the main room of 
the Rumford Historical Association, which was organized on the 



130 



WINCHESTER AND WOBURN. 



one hundred and twenty-fourth anniversary of the birth of Count 
Rumford, in 1853, for the preservation of this house, and its main- 
tenance as a depository of historical material. Among many in- 
teresting things here brought together are the Rumford Library, 
formerly the old " New Bridge " or North Woburn Library ; nu- 
merous relics of Count Rumford, including his own books, papers 
and prints ; a safe containing various documents with the manu- 
scripts of lectures delivered before the Rumford Historical Asso- 
ciation ; an eighteenth-century bedstead with other pieces of ancient 
furniture, each with a history ; pieces of the Rumford ash which 
used to stand before the house, in various articles hand-made by 
Mr. Marshall Tidd, an old resident of North Woburn. 




Birthplace of Count Rumford. 



This was Benjamin Thompson's home during his boyhood, under the care of 
his grandfather, his father having died soon after the boy was born, and his 
mother having speedily again ^married, — her second husband being Josiah 
Pierce, Jr. In his thirteenth year he was apprenticed to a shopkeeper in 
Salem, and while there his mind was turned to scientific studies, through his 
interest in the talk of members of a local scientific club, who were accus- 
tomed frequently to drop into the shop. He made numerous chemical and 
mechanical experiments, and at the age of fourteen, it has been said, he was 
"sufficiently advanced in algebra, geometry, astronomy, and even in the 
higher mathematics to calculate a solar eclipse within four seconds of accu- 
racy." He also became quite expert in engraving. At sixteen he went to 
Boston and there became a clerk in the dry-goods shop of Hopestill Capen, 
which was kept in the little brick building yet standing on the corner of Union 
Street and old Marshall Lane. Tliree years later, then a handsome youth, 
with engaging inanners and a well-stored mind, he went to Concord, N, H. 
(then the town of Rumford), and there " first enjoyed the favors of fortune " 



WINCHESTER AND W OB URN. 131 

by marrying the rich widow of Colonel Benjamin Rolfe, and daughter of the 
Rev. Timothy Walker, " a highly respectable minister " in Rumford. She was 
his senior by fourteen years. This marriage brought him into the best society 
of the period and introduced him to men of prominence and influence in Provin- 
cial attairs. When the Revolution broke out he held a major's commission in 
the militia, from Governor Weutworth of New Hampshire, and soon fell under 
suspicion of being unfriendly to the American cause. He was in Boston 
through the siege, and upon the British evacuation of the town sailed for 
England as bearer of dispatches from Governor Wentworth. There he at- 
tracted the attention of Lord Germaine, and was given a clerkship in the secre- 
tary's office. Shortly after he was advanced to the secretaryship of Georgia, 
and four years later became under-secretary of state. Upon the resignation 
of Lord Nortli's administration he entered the English military service and 
was assigned to a cavalry command in the American war. But by this time 
the Revolution was practically ended, and he soon after retired with the rank 
of a lieutenant-colonel. Next proposing to join the Austrian army against the 
Turks, he chanced at Strasburg to receive an introduction to Prince Maxi- 
milian, afterward elector of Bavaria, who invited him to enter the service of 
that state. Obtaining leave of the British government, and receiving at the 
same time from George III. the honor of knighthood, he accepted the prince's 
offer, and spent the next eleven years in Munich in distinguished services as 
minister of war, minister of police, and grand chamberlain to the elector. 
During this period he " reorganized the Bavarian army ; suppressed mendicity, 
and found employment for the poor ; . . . immensely improved the condition 
of the industrial classes throughout the country by providing them with work 
and instructing them in the practice of domestic economy." The order of St. 
Stanislaus was conferred upon him by tlie King of Poland in 178G ; and in 
1791 he was created by the King of Bavaria " Count of the Holy Roman 
Empire " witli the order of the Wliite Eagle. He took the name of Rumford 
in honor of the town where the foundation of his fortunes was laid in his 
marriage with the wealthy widow — with whom, however, he did not long live, 
leaving her in 1776 upon his departure with Governor Wentworth's dispatches 
to England. He died, in Auteuil, Department of Paris, in 1814. The statue 
of him, in Maximilian Strasse, Munich, was placed in 18G1. During all his 
years of military and civil service, Count Rumford was a constant student of 
the sciences, and writer on scientific subjects : and he is ranked by his 
biographer, the Rev. George E. Ellis, with Franklin " as the most distin- 
guished for philosophical genius of all that have been produced on the soil of 
this continent." He was a founder of the Royal Institute of Great Britain in 
1799-1800; founder of the Rumford Medal in 179G in charge of the Ameri- 
can Academy of Arts and Sciences in Boston ; and by his will founded the 
Rumford Professorship of Harvard University. 

Next in historic interest is the Baldwin mansion-house at the 
further end of the bow which Elm Street makes to rejoin Main 
Street, about a quarter of a mile beyond the Rvimford house. The 
walk over takes us, after a while, into a section of old estates and 
a picturesque open country. The comfortable-looking house next 
to the corner of the first street opening at the right, once a prosper- 
ous dwelling, is now the Home for Aged Women, given to this in- 
stitution by William Tidd and his wife, its long-time owners. That 
next beyond, on the same side, is known as the William Nichols 
house, built in 1760, and sometime occupied by Moses Winn, one 
of the numerous public-spirited Winn family of Woburn. As we 
approach the Baldwin mansion-house we observe the old-fashioned 
stateliness of the neighboring places, with their mansion-houses of 
Provincial type set in grounds of generous proportions. But the 



132 



WINCHESTER AND WO BURN. 



Baldwin place is the stateliest, extending over wide territory of 
fields and meadows, groves and woods, quite like an English 
domain. The house stands slightly hack from the roadway under 
the shadow of majestic trees, with a great elm on the street line. 
It has been well described, we must agree, as one of the most im- 
posing and best preserved of ancient homesteads of New England 
worthies. Built of brick and Avood, of three stories, with balus- 
traded roof-lines, ornamented front, spacious porch and ornate win- 
dow above, " the glass reflecting in prysmatic colors the rays of the 
sun," it is in exterior an example of Colonial architecture ranking 
nearly in line with the Royall house in Medford [see Walk No. 14], 
the Craigie house in Cambridge [see Walk No. 28], and the few 
others of like stamp yet spared in the country round about Boston. 
The house bears date of 1661, as the tablet on the elm in the side- 




The Baldwin House. 

walk states, but its present appearance was given it at a later period, 
perhaps toAvard the middle of the eighteenth century, Avith the en- 
largement and extension of the original structure. The interior, 
Avhich wears the ancient look, shows the double hall, with front 
and back stairway, separated by the landing on the second story ; 
solid, hand-carved Avoodwork ; on the street floor spacious drawing 
and dining rooms Avhere " free-hearted Hospitality used to be ; " and 
broad chambers above. On the second floor of the extension is the 
Baldwin hbrary, — a large collection of rare books and manuscripts 



WINCHESTER AND WOBUEN 133 

which should be preserved in the Woburn Public Library. Valu- 
able relics of by-gone days embellish the house : its furnishings are 
of the old-time order, and in a niche in the wall, beside the landing 
of the stairways, is yet the " Old Clock on the Stairs," the ancient 
timepiece celebrated in Longfellow's verse, ticking its " Forever — 
never! Never — forever!" Of the line of trees in front of the 
house, standing like sentinels close up to the entrance-path, one 
(that at the right as the house is approached) was planted by 
slaves of the Baldwins, before the Revolution. 

This was originally the homestead of Henry Baldwin, from Devonshire, 
who was prominent in the Charlestown settlement, a signer of the " Town 
Order " in 1641, with the Woburn settlement in view, and one of the earliest 
settlers of the new town, a selectman and deacon of the first church ; and it 
has been occupied by his descendants through six generations. Its most dis- 
tinguished occupant was Colonel Loammi Baldwin, great-grandson of Henry, 
born in 1745 ; an officer in the Revolution ; representative in the General 
Court ; the first high sheriff of Middlesex after the adoption of the State con- 
stitution ; a projector and one of the principal proprietors of the Middlesex 
Canal, serving as an assistant engineer in its construction ; the cultivator 
and introducer of the toothsome Baldwin apple. He was an intimate friend 
of Count Rumford from boyhood, and as young men they were associated 
in attending scientific lectures at Harvard College, and in making practical 
experiments. His son, Loammi Baldwin, 2d, born in 1780, who has been 
called the " father of civil engineering in America," was connected with most 
of the great works of internal improvement in the country during the first 
thirty years of the present centurj\ The chief monuments of his skill are 
the Government dry docks in the Charlestown and Norfolk Navy Yards. 
George Rumford Baldwin, son of Colonel Loammi, by the latter 's second 
wife, was the last representative of the family bearing the Baldwin name in 
Woburn. He died in this old mansion in 1888, leaving a daughter, now Mrs. 
W. A. Griffith, residing in Quebec, and the present owner of the property. 
The house is now in the care of a representative of Mrs. Griffith. 

From the Baldwin house we retrace our steps along Elm Street 
back to West Street, the first opening to the westward. Thence 
we cross to Pearl Street, and, taking the southern turn, proceed 
for some distance along this rural road to Winn Street, by which, 
in a southeasterly direction, we reach in course of time the neigh- 
borhood of Rag Rock. Pearl Street, soon after passing West 
Street, bends toward the west, and crossing '' Hungry Plain," 
passes Woburn bounds and enters Burlington, in which town 
it makes the junction with Winn Street. "Hungry Plain," a 
Puritan name, is a wide level sweep with western background 
of noble forest, and Mt. Plainum (so named from its elevation 
above the plain), rising in a fine slope, on one side. This mount 
was early mined for minerals, but without profitable result, and 
sometime went by the name of Copper Hill. It was purchased 
in 1G92 for mining purposes by Francis Burroughs, a wealthy 
Boston merchant, who paid for it a sum far in excess of what the 
property would bring to-day. The ancient name of the plain is 



134 WINCHESTER AND W OB URN. 

perpetuated by a local scholar in the poultry and egg line, who, we 
observe, displays over his roadside office the sign '' Hungry Plain 
Egg and Poultry Farm." This is a region of old homesteads, 
some of which have passed down to their present occupants from 
the earliest settlers. On Winn Street, by the Pearl Street junc- 
tion (here we take Winn Street at the left), is the Colonel William 
Winn house, — homestead of the father of Jonathan B. Winn, the 
benefactor of the Woburn Public Library, — on the farm which 
has been in the Winn family for a long time. We follow Winn 
Street back over Woburn bounds to Elijah Street, a cross street 
at the right leading over to Bedford Street ; and from the latter, 
a few rods west of Elijah Street, take Houghton Street by a steep 
rise to Rag Rock side. Leaving the road at about its highest 
point, and striking into the field at the left, we approach the cliffs 
by the winding footpath here. 

It is an easy chmb quite to the summit, and, as we mount, the 
prospect broadens in charming detail, until, the top reached, we 
have a i^anorama covering a wide circuit. Taking position on the 
eastern end and facing east by south, we have below us, be- 
yond a foreground of green fields, Woburn City, its church spires 
and house-tops, and notably the beautiful Library building, in 
clear outline, rising above the thickly set trees. Further south- 
eastward, the prospect is bounded by Mt. Pleasant (270 feet), — 
the series of tree-clad elevations which until the Revolution went 
by the name of the English Hills (a fact disclosed by Judge Edward 
F. Johnson in 1896 through examination of old deeds) from their 
resemblance, doubtless, to the sweet hills of old England, and 
which lost that name with the outbreak of hostilities when so many 
English names disappeared, like King and Queen streets in Bos- 
ton, and " every sign that belonged to a tory." On the south we 
have a fair view over the Aberjona valley to Winchester, Horn 
Pond, and Horn Pond Mountain, and the more distant Zion's Hill. 
Then as we walk up the rock westward, to a slightly more ele- 
vated point, the eye sweeps over Cummingsville to the lovely 
country beyond, with Whispering and Listening Hills toward the 
southwest. This craggy height (245 feet) well warrants its name 
of Rag — old English for rugged — which was given it by the 
earliest settlers. It is easy of access, except at one point, the 
eastern edge, where it is picturesquely precipitous ; and with the 
building of the circuit boulevard connecting the Middlesex Fells 
and the Winchester Parkway with picturesque features of Wo- 
burn, as now planned, the construction of a carriage-way to the 
summit is proposed. In 1896 the city council took measures to 
acquire the front or southerly portion for a public reservation. 



WINCHESTER AND WOBURN. 135 

The earlier name of the English Hills applied to the present Mt. Pleasant, 
Judge Johnson found, first appears of record in the will of John Brooks, Sr., 
dated July, 1G90. In a deed of date December, 1G98, from Nathaniel Rich- 
ardson to his son James, mention is made of " Tlie Great Hill," by which 
was meant the highest of tlie Mt. Pleasant elevations, more commonly re- 
ferred to in deeds of that period as " The Mountain." After tlie Revolution, 
when the name "English" fell into disfavor, the height was called " Brooks 
Mountain," because, as Judge Johnson shows, the whole or the greater part 
of it was owned by members of the Brooks family, who held it for about 
two hundred years. This name was retained until the middle of the present 
century. After that it came to be called indifferently Frog Hole Mountain, 
Blueberry Mountain, and Mt. Pleasant. In accordance with Judge Johnson's 
plea, its first English name will probably be restored. 

We leave Rag Rock summit by a path sliglitly further west 
than that by which we came up, and return by Houghton Street 
to Bedford Street, where, taking the left turn, we swing into the 
long walk through Curamingsville across to Cambridge Street, 
thence to the old Kendall Mill quarter, and by cross road to the 
Listening Hill region. 

Cummingsville gets its name from David Cummings, who estab- 
lished himself on an extensive farm here about 1770, and started 
the tanning indastry which his g^i-andson, John Cummings, subse- 
quently developed to large and prosperous proportions. The old 
David Cummings homestead is yet retained, and near by we pass 
the more modern estate of John Cummings, itself now agreeably 
old-fashioned. Cambridge Street, into which we turn, at the left, 
from Bedford Street, continues through pleasant i)arts, growing 
more rural as we advance. 0£E to the right, as we enter it, is 
Babylon Hill, and further south lies Whispering Hill. As we 
approach the old Kendall Mill neighborhood, about half a mile 
beyond the turn from Bedford Street, we pass the opening, at the 
right, of a grassy lane through the woods, which is historic as well 
as pretty. This is old Sawpit Lane, so named by the first settlers. 

Kendall Mill, by the side of John Johnson's Saw-Mill Brook, 
which yet runs across the fields by Cambridge Street, was one of 
the early mills of the town. It was on the Kendall farm, which 
was originally a part of the homestead estate of Captain EdAvard 
Johnson, the "father of Woburn," and, purchased in 1G72 and 
K388, has, with little curtailment, remained in the possession of 
the Kendall family since that period. Passing the Kendall house 
we turn into Russell Street, at the right, and so reach the path 
to Listening Hill. A walk of about a quarter of a mile up this 
country road, fringed with foliage and wild bush in bloom pressing 
close to the roadway, brings us to a farmhouse on the left, locally 
known as the Darmody house, at the hither side of which, in the 
broad pasture spreading itp the slope, we shall find our path. The 
lands on either side of the road were in Captain Edward Johnson's 



136 



WINCHEBTER AND W OB URN. 



allotment, and perhaps he had his own fair holdings in mind when 
he pictured the new town so attractively in his " Wonder-Working 
Providence." The path up the hill is by an easy grade, and be- 
fore we quite realize it, so pleasing are the expanding views, we 
are at the turn to the summit, at the right. This consists of 
a group of rocks, with long flat surface, above the tree line. 
The hill, rising 260 feet, is slightly higher than Rag Rock, but 
the view from it is more contracted because of higher hills in the 
neighborhood. The picture disclosed is almost wholly rural. Oc- 
casionally we can discern farms and pastures in opens on the 
slopes and in the grand sweep of trees below, and we may hear 
the tinkling of cow-bells, as the early settlers heard them when 
they came up here to listen for their strayed cattle, and so gave 
the hill its poetic name two and a half centuries ago. From the 
northern end, looking northeasterly to the horizon line of hills, we 
can trace the misty outline of Monadnock's peak. 

We make the descent by the southwesterly slope, not in an easy 
saunter as we ascended, but by a plunge down the steep, almost 




In Shaker Glen. 

precipitous side bearing to the south, through thick growth of 
slender trees, shrub and flora, into Shaker Glen, one of the most 
picturesque regions in all the picturesque country round about Bos- 
ton. Other places in the circuit show greater beauty at special 



WINCHESTER AXD WOBURX. 137 

points, but none equal in extent is so continuously interesting. 
Here is a dale extending in charmingly irregidar line, perhaps a 
mile and a half long, now cutting between lofty cliffs, now along 
gentle hill-slopes, now in and out of masses of jagged rocks, and 
the singing brook, with many a turn and "many a curve," 
coursing through the middle. Noble trees are here, luxuriant 
vines, rich mosses, ferns, varieties of brook plants ; birds abound ; 
fat turtles luxuriate in the stream. Our path lies in a north- 
easterly direction along the brook, sometimes on one side and 
sometimes on the other, the crossing being made by stones above 
the roekj^ bed, or by protruding tree-trunks. At length we reach 
an open where our brook — Turkey Hill Saw-Mill Brook, by 
name, given it by the early settlers — meets the John Johnson 
Saw-Mill Brook, coming over from the old Kendall Mill region. 
Thence we follow a well-worn footpath through a grove spreading 
back from the latter brook, shortly emerging into a field, and so 
return to Russell Street a little way below the point where we left 
the road for the approach to Listening Hill. 

Back through Russell Street to the Cambridge Street junction, 
our course is now toward Wobum Centi'e, about a mUe and a half 
to the eastward. Ci'ossing Cambridge Street we take Lexington 
Street opjiosite the Russell Street opening, and folloAv this thor- 
oughfare direct into Pleasant Street (practically a continuation of 
it), to the beautiful Public Library building ; or we may make a 
detour, passing Hiawatha Grove of lofty pines, by way of the his- 
toric road between Caiubridge and Burlington Streets, formerly 
known as Military Lane. This used to be traveled by the yeo- 
man soldiery going to the Colonial Wars, and was the way by 
which later some of the Woburn minute-men hurried to Lexington 
and Concord. These roads, like the others we have traversed, 
are well favoi*ed with fine side trees, and as they reach toward the 
urban parts they pass through attractive country, alongside of 
hillside groves, by broad opens, and pleasing vistas. The Public 
Library presents its rich front elevation to Pleasant Street, and 
the beauties of its architectural details are unfolded most impres- 
sively by this approach. Off from the thoroughfare, in a large 
lot, with a fine stretch of lawn surrounding it, the structure is 
most effectively displayed. It is of the best of the late H. H. 
Richardson's work, ranking with his masterpiece, the Trinity 
Church in Boston, and ixxWj deserves the praise which has been 
bestowed upon it by competent critics as "one of the most ex- 
quisitely designed and harmoniously arranged buildings which 
modern architecture has produced." The material of which it 
is constructed — the rich-tinted Longmeadow granite, and Ohio 



138 



WINCHESTER AND W OB URN. 



cream-colored sandstone — is the same as that of Trinity, and it 
resembles the Boston work in its style of an original composite 
nature, although in no sense a copy. The tower and the clois- 
tered porch, at the main entrance, give peculiar dignity to the 
entire composition ; while the rear portion is finely designed, and 




The Woburn Public Library. 



deserves study in detail. The interior is broadly arranged in art- 
gallery, reading-room, and main library. In the apse, entered 
from the art-gallery, through an arched passageway, is a museum 
of fossils, minerals, and birds, scientifically arranged ; and in one 
of the basement rooms is a unique feature — an antique kitchen 
equipped after the ancient fashion and containing a great variety 
of interesting and curious things. The library embraces a well- 
selected collection of useful books, about thirty-five tliousand vol- 
umes, especially strong in Americana, and upward of five tliousand 
manuscriiits, documents, and miscellaneous papers of local inter- 
est and value. It is fortunate in having in its librarian, Mr. W. 
R. Cutter, an historical student and writer, and one well versed in 
library science. 

The Public Library was founded by the liberality of Jonathan B. Winn and 
Charles B. Winn, father and son, natives of Woburn, and descendants of Ed- 
ward Winn who first settled here in 1G41. The movement for the institution 
was begun in 1854, when the elder gave to the town the money which he had 
received as a member of the State Constitutional convention, on condition 
that the town should appropriate a similar sum, for the establishment of a 
public library. The condition was met, and the library was opened in August, 
1856. In 1873, Mr. Winn, Sr., and his brother, Timothy Winn, devised to- 
gether 1^5500 for the institution. In 1875, two years after his father's death, 
Charles B. Winn made a munificent bequest to the library, the town receiving 



WINCHESTER AND WOBURN. 139 

thereby as an immediate legacy the sum of $140,000, which amount was raised 
to $153,000 by the value of paintings left by Mr. Winn. As residuary legatee 
further amounts were received by the town until the sum reached $227,000. 
For this building $80,000 were expended, and the sum of $50,000 was set apart 
for a permanent fund. The inscription in the porch of the building was pre- 
pared by Charles B. Winn, and reads, " This building was erected in memory 
of Jonathan Bowers Winn, from funds bequeathed by his son, for the use, 
benefit, and improvement of the people of Woburn." Mr. Winn, Sr., made 
his fortune in the leather industry. 

Library Park, of which the building is the centre, already embracing a gen- 
erous tract, is to be fui-ther enlarged at the rear, and ultimately extended to 
the line of the proposed boulevard. 

From the Public Library it is but a few steps to the ancient 
Common, and the station from which we make our return to Bos- 
ton. The Common, by the way, was originally in the lot of George 
Bunker, from whom Bunker Hill in Charlestown took its name. 

Walk c. Leaving the train at Mishawura station and entering 
the field at the right of the railroad track, a few steps bring us to 
the shore of Richardson's Pond and the old Reading road at the 
right. Crossing to the road and looking northward over the pond, 
we have a peaceful view of the belt of woods in which the Aber- 
jona River has one of its sources. The pond is locally called the 
head of the Aberjona, and from the narrow outlet on the further 
side of the road the river makes its picturesque way, spreading 
into a sucesssion of little ponds, as we have seen in otlier walks, 
on the rambling journey down through Woburn and Winchester to 
Mystic lakes. Richardson's is an artificial pond, made by the 
dam for the old-time Richardson grist-mill, the ruins of which are 
by the roadside. On future maps it will bear the name of Lake 
Mishawum, having been recently so christened, while the old 
Reading road, long known as Middle Street, becomes Mishawum 
Road. To the south of us lies the Walnut Hill shooting-range, of 
the Massachusetts Rifle Association, occupying a large tract of 
land in the quarter anciently known as " Button End," with its 
targets in the neighborhood of " Buck Meadow " in the Aberjona ' 
valley not far from the John Harvard lands. [See Walk No. 18.] 
The range is reached directly from the Walnut Hill station, next 
below Mishawum. " Button End," by the Avay, was so called 
because buttons were made there, just after the Revolution, from 
the wood of the sycamore or " button-wood " tree. 

We follow Mishawum Road westward, over the railroad bridge, 
into Plain Street, bearing to the right, and thence to Ames Corner, 
at the junction with School and New Boston Street. Here are 
two interesting old houses, one of gambrel roof, homesteads of the 
family giving the name to the corner. 

Turning at Ames Corner to the left into New Boston Street (the 
old Andover road), we bend our steps toward the Woburn Forest 



140 WINCHESTER AND W OB URN. 

Park, about half a mile distant. Tlie higliway is here a country 
road soon entering- a section well wooded on one side, with occa- 
sional farms and spreading meadows on the other. As we near 
the park we come upon an ancient house on the left of the way 
standing back from the road, a lane leading up to its vine-covered 
side entrance porch, and a well-sweep in the old-fashioned yard, 
making an engaging picture in the landscape. This is generally 
called the Andrew Jackson Wade place. It dates from about 
1730, and is a house with a history. It was formerly occupied by 
the Converse family, descendants of the early settler Allen Con- 
verse, and before the Revolution was the home of Samuel Con- 
verse. 

The Forest Park embraces about fifty-three acres of natural 
woods on high ground, at the right of New Boston Street. A 
roadway from New Boston Street enters the enclosure on the 
southern border, and cuts through the heart of it in a pleasantly 
winding course to Main Street on the northwest. The park com- 
missioners have wisely retained the forest features, making the 
road a wood-road rather than a broad parkway and opening up 
footpaths in and out of the groves. By the New Boston Street 
entrance a clearing is made for the playground, baseball field, 
and tennis court. We can strike across the playground and on 
the hill above come into the main park road and follow this to the 
Main Street side, thus covering the most attractive portions of 
the park. If we hold to Ncav Boston Street we shall soon reach 
Mishawum Road and join Main Street further south. 

We now stroll along Main Street in a southerly direction toward 
the Centre, passing throiigh Central Square with its green flower- 
beds and fountain, and by some of the finer modern estates of 
the place, the houses set back from the tree-lined thoroughfare. 
Opposite the finish of Mishawum Road in Main Street, the Ark 
Tavern, a famous inn of its day, stood from 1674 to 1828, and a 
splendid old sycamore whose branches shaded its door was suf- 
fered to remain until the autumn of 1880, when it fell a victim to 
the axe-man. With the new houses of ambitious architecture 
along the way are mingled several stately old ones which yet wear 
the true New England air of established gentility. Before reach- 
ing the Centre we turn at the left into Charles Street, our route 
being to the eastward section and the picturesque height known as 
Mt. Gilboa (220 feet). Following Charles Street to its terminus, 
we enter the modern Woburn Cemetery at the left, cross its 
groimds to Salem Street, continue along Salem Street easterly to 
Bow Street on the right, and after a short walk up this rising way 
reach a path on the left leading up Mt. Gilboa. The red house on 



WINCHESTER AND W OB URN. 141 

the soiitliAvesterly cornei* of Salem and Bow streets is of the colo- 
nial period, and another of the numerous old Richardson houses 
in Woburn and Winchester. The path up Gilboa starts in the 
field just beyond the first house on the rise (that of Mr. Elmore 
A. Pierce, of the park commission). It is an easy ascent to the 
summit with an expanding view to the north and northwest, as it 
is approached. Following the path to the open on the highest point, 
we have a view to the north, west, and southwest, covering in the 
nearer territory the thickly-settled portion of Woburn ; beyond, 
in bold relief. Rag Rock, Horn Pond Mountain, Listening Hill, 
and Whispering Hill ; to the southwest, the Arlington hills and the 
highlands of the west side of Winchester ; to the distant north, 
Monadnock plainly visible, and somewhat more to the southwest, 
Wachusett. The summit is a practically level ridge, extending 
nearly a thousand feet from north to south. Crossing the easterly 
side of the hill we come to several terraces. From the highest of 
these terraces, called Walnut Hill Terrace from the close prox- 
imity of the quarter to Walnut Hill station, we have a sweeping 
view beyond the Aberjona Valley, from Burlington to Winchester, 
embracing North Woburn, Mishawum, Reading, Stoneham (the 
water-towers of these two towns standing out in bold relief on the 
highest hills). Bear Hill and its observatory in the Fells region, 
Mt. Pleasant, or the English HilLs as we shall now call this group, 
and Winchester Highlands. Passing down through a portion of 
Walnut Hill Terrace we come upon "Purity Spring," where we 
may refresh ourselves with a drink of clear cool water from an an- 
cient pool, which we are assured by old residents has not failed for 
a century and three quarters. Its overflow runs through a pretty 
glen, to which has been given the name of " Forget-me-not Glen," 
from the beautiful wild-flower which grows in profusion along the 
water's edge. Mt. Gilboa is commonly known in the neighborhood 
as Converse Hill, from its long ownership, in large part, by the 
Converse family. Joshua Converse, the first to acquii'e the hill, 
lived to the remarkable age of one hundred and one years and 
sixteen days. 

From this region we strike into Wood Street near by, and 
thence reach Salem Street, along which a walk of about half a 
mile brings us to Burbank Pond, now dignified by the title of 
Lake, a pretty sheet of water. North of the pond lies the terri- 
tory early known as Buck Meadow, along which, on the higher 
land, is the Walnut Hill rifle range noticed at the beginning of 
this walk. 

We are now to turn toward Woburn Centre, and we had better 
cover the distance by car (Woburn and Reading electric raihvay), 



142 WINCHESTER AND W OB URN. 

leaving the car on Montvale Avenue to visit the old burying- 
ground. This was the second burying-ground in Woburn, first 
opened as a parish graveyard by the First Parish in 1794, and in 
1824 purchased by the town. Here are the graves of fifty-six 
soldiers of the Revolution. The first burying-ground, probably 
coeval with the settlement of Woburn (1642), is within two min' 
utes' walk, — on Park Street, — and is more interesting because 
more ancient. Here were buried in unmarked graves a number 
of the earliest settlers, including Captain Edward Johnson ; four of 
the early ministers ; Benjamin Thompson, the father of Count 
Rumford ; fifteen soldiers of the Revolution ; and ancestors of ex- 
Presidents Pierce, Cleveland, and Harrison. The most conspicu- 
ous tomb in the yard is that of Colonel Loammi Baldwin, marked 
by a granite obelisk bearing this inscription : — 

To the memory of the Honorable Loammi Baldwin, who died October 20, 
1807, aet. sixtj'-three. Erected by his children. 

This monument occupies the highest summit in the yard. The 
gravestone of Aaron Cleveland (born in Woburn, 1657, died 1716), 
the ancestor of ex-President Cleveland, is near the street line. 
The grave of the ancestor of ex-President Harrison is that of Wil- 
liam Sjonmes (born 1679, died 1764). 

The hill, upon the side of which this burjdng-ground lies, was 
anciently called Mt. Seir, but for many years it went by the name 
of Powder-House Hill ; and on its very apex, a little outside of 
the limits of the burying-ground, still stands one of the old brick 
powder-houses, so many of which were erected in Massachusetts 
towns during the War of 1812. 

We may well finish this walk by crossing Main Street and climb- 
ing Meeting-House Hill, so called from the second meeting-house 
of Woburn, which was placed here. It lies in the heart of the city, 
girded on the west and north by business buildings, and is of suffi- 
cient altitude to allow of a view over the tops of the business 
blocks and houses, embracing the closely settled parts of the city. 
Academy Hill, so named from the old Warren Academy, a famous 
institution in its day, is a short by-Avalk from Pleasant Street. 
The academy building is now used for a Free Industrial School, 
which is supported from the interest of Warren Academy funds 
in the hands of trustees. Near the railway station is a modernized 
old house, which deserves attention, as in part that of the Rev. 
Thomas Carter, the first minister of Wobm-n, of whose ordination 
a painting is shown in the Public Library. It contains some of 
the timber of the original house yet in sound condition. 

Walk d. Leave the cars at Cross Street station and start from 
the left side of the track. Ten minutes takes us across to the 



WINCHESTER AND W OB URN. 



14; 



Horn Pond and Horn Pond Mountain (250 feet) re^on, by way of 
Cross Street, Border Street, and Lake Avenue. Passing by the ice- 
houses we proceed toward the puraping-station on the margin of 




■or-'- ,'>e<Ks«i 



Horu Pond. 




the pond, at the south of which the " mountain" rises in a sweep- 
ing Avooded slope. A winding carriage-way and shorter footpatli 
make the steep ascent, both so curving that frequent charming 
views open through the trees. We take, of course, the footpath, 
and find the mount exhilarating. The carriage-way ends at the 
base of the reservoir which crowns the summit, and footpaths 
climb its rugged sides. Scrambling to the top we find a natural 
reservoir in a rocky frame, much resembling an extinct crater 
transformed into a mountain pond. We may make the entire 
circuit by the narrow walk along the edges. We have the best 
points of view in passing to the west and north, where the eye has 
a wide range. Looking northeasterly we see the Stoneham water- 
tower rising apparently above a forest ; more easterly Bear Hill, 
in the Middlesex Fells, appears conspicuously, and the shining 
Spot Pond ; bearing further to the east, more of the Fells ; to the 
south. Mystic ponds, and over and beyond, the outlines of Boston, 
with the range of Blue Hills on the horizon a little west of south ; 
directly south, the market gardens of the west side of Winchester 
defined in nice detail ; westerly a stretch of woods ; to the north, 
over the picturesqvie Horn Pond, Woburn and its surrounding 
hills. Vines and bushes in profusion, we observe, especially on 
the west and north, grow close up to the top of the crater-like 



144 WINCHESTER AND WOBURN. 

reservoir, and on the north the slopes are less precipitous than on 
the east and south. A little way to the north lies one of those 
peculiar bowl-like rocks which are found occasionally in the Fells 
heights and in the Blue Hills, which tradition says were used as 
mills by the Indians to grind their corn. 

We descend from the reservoir top by another footpath making 
into that by which we ascended, and go down the motxntain by a 
path pointing almost directly toward the pumping-station, and 
full of beauty, the flora about it being rich and varied. At the 
foot our way is now along the cart-road which starts out in a west- 
erly direction. This carries us away from the pond about which 
are pleasant walks well worth the taking. The region was during 
the first half of the present century a famous resort, and the Horn 
Pond Hotel on the easterly shore, with its grove summer-houses, 
its bowling-alley on the little island in the pond, its boat-houses 
and boats, attracted visitors from distant parts, who came, before 
the advent of the railroad, by passenger-boats on the Middlesex 
canal passing near by. Our cart-road leads shortly into an open 
field, and narrows there to a footpath. At the left of the bars, in 
the stone wall, which we let down to enter the field, note the 
beautiful oak ; observe how symmetrically its branches grow. 
Along the field and in the woods we may gather luscious mush- 
rooms, not only the Agaricus camjyestris, or meadow mushroom, 
but also specimens of the russula, boletus, and other wholesome 
families, besides the white puff-balls, all of which latter, when not 
in the least discolored by decay, Captain Julius A. Palmer, our 
authority on mushrooms, assures us are edible. On the further 
side where the ground rises we strike Greenough Lane, showing 
more marks of use than the first cart-road, and soon come to cellars 
of deserted houses, with clumps of native vines growing out of 
them, and worn old apple-orchards in the rear. The settlers, 
whoever they were, certainly selected the sites of their houses 
wisely so far as beauty of situation goes. A little way beyond we 
bear to the right and take the highway (Cambridge Street) for 
perhaps an eighth of a mile, to a narrow path between the trees 
on the left of the road, where we enter the woods of the Zion's 
Hill (325 feet) region. From this entrance-path we make a sharp 
turn to the right and, going northward, ascend the hill gradually, 
at length reaching the simimit at a point from which we get the 
fairest outlook, —an extended view similar to that had from Horn 
Pond Mountain. The tree growth extends close up to the sum- 
rait, finishing in rugged cedars, and under the refreshing shade of 
a cluster of these, on the slope of the topmost point, we may well 
rest a while and take our lunch. Lunch and rest over, we now 



WINCHESTER AND W OB URN. 145 

descend, still going northward, by narrow footpaths to Lexington 
Street. This we cross, and striking into the beautiful forest, on 
the other side, follow paths to Shaker Glen and its brook, the 
lovely dell extending northwesterly into the Listening Hill neigh- 
borhood. [See Walk 6.] Thence, westward, through broader 
paths, we reach an open, skirted by a rich mass of woods. Cross- 
ing this due Avest we come to another roadway (Waltham Street), 
which we also cross, and enter a grove. Following a path here, 
still leading westward, we shortly come out upon a broad field and 
meadow over which we see parts of picturesque Lexington. Our 
path now lies across this lovely stretch — Munroe's Meadow — to- 
ward the railway track and Munroe's station. For the latter part 
of the way we have a meandering brook with us, in which we 
may gather water-cresses to be added to our store of mushrooms 
harvested in the field of the Horn Pond region. 

Our walk ends formally at Munroe's station, from which we are 
to take return train ; but if we have to wait for the train the time 
cannot better be occuijied than by a stroll about this pleasant 
neighborhood. The historic Munroe Tavern is near by, and the 
way toward Peirce's Bridge is interesting. We should not, how- 
ever, attempt to do the place with any degree of thoroughness, 
lest the freshness of our regular walks in Lexington be impaired. 



Lexington. 



From Boston to East Lexington, by steam car [B. & M., S. Div.], 9 miles; 
fare, 19 cents. Return from Lexington Centre, fare, 22 cents. 

From Boston to Munroe Station, 10 miles ; fare, 22 cents. Return from 
Arlington Heights, by steam car, fare IG cents ; or by electric car, fare 
5 cents. 

From Boston to Lexington Centre, 11 miles ; fare, 22 cents. Return from 
Lexington Centre. 

Walk a. [No. 22.] Embraces historic landmarks. Covers East Lexington 
village ; Mount Independence ; the Ridge Walk westward ; Munioe Hill and 
the Munroe Tavern ; Massachusetts Avenue to Lexington Green ; the ancient 
burying-ground ; Hancock Street and site of tlie Hancock-Clarke house ; 
Granny's Hill. Finishes at the Town Hall and the museum of relics. By- 
walk over to the birthplace of Tlieodore Parker. 

Walk b. [No. 23.] From Lexington to Arlington Heights, roundabout way. 
Starts at Munroe Station, north side. Covers the meadow road ; tlie ridge 
road through woods to the northeast ; Maple Street ; a stretch down the old 
Lowell Turnpike ; field and wood-path to the abandoned Winchester road ; a 
piece of Ridge Street ; Forest Street, toward Arlington, passing Turkey Hill, 
Massachusetts Avenue, to the Heights. 

Walk c. [No. 24.] Embraces the Tidd Hill region. North Lexington. 
Starts from Lexington centre and follows Hancock Street to country parts ; 
passes the Fiske house along the way ; climbs the slope of Tidd Hill, by wood- 
path through pines to tlie sumniit ; crosses the summit, and takes a farm lane 
and meadows to the Bedford road ; passes up " Lovers' Lane," and across to 
Robinson Hill ; thence returns to the village by Lexington Green. 

Lexington was " Cambridge Farms," within the domain of Cambridge, from 
1635 to 1713, wlien it was incorporated under its present name. It had then been 
a separate parish, known as the " Precinct of Cambridge Farms," but twenty- 
two years, before which time its few inhabitants were obliged to make the 
hard journey of six miles and more througli the rough wood-roads every Sun- 
day to the church at Cambridge. The territory was at first allotted to a number 
of the wealthier settlers or proprietors of Cambridge (orNewtowne) for farms, 
and thus acquired the name of " Cambridge Farms." These grants were gener- 
ous in proportion, and for many years mostly remained unbroken. One grant of 
six hundred acres, which was held as a single farm till 1693, and then broken 
first into three parts only, included all of what is now the central village. 
This was for half a century in possession of one family, the Pelhams, having 
fallen to Herbert Pelham (first treasurer of Harvard College, in 1642) after the 
death of its first settler, Roger Herlarkenden (brotlier of Richard Herlarken- 
den, of London, the original grantee, whose widow he married), and it was 
long known as " Mr. Pelham's Manor." In 1091, when " Cambridge Farms " 
became a precinct, it contained less than fifty families, scattered in the out- 
lying parts. When the precinct became the town, its population was but a few 
hundred ; and at the time of the affair on the Green, on tliat April morning of 
1775, it was a village of not more than eight hundred inhabitants. Lexington 
remained essentially an agricultural town until well into tlie last third of this 
century, and a number of broad farms are yet tilled within its borders. Tliere 
are several large milk farms and vegetable gardens lying on the outskirts of 
the town, which find their principal market in Boston, and two or three exten- 
sive stock farms. Tlie main parts of the town are now occupied by suburban 
homes of modern fashion, intermingled with old homesteads rich in historic 
associations, and fair country-seats. Its present area is nineteen square 
miles, and it lias sixty miles of pleasant roads. The central village, of which 
the renowned Green is the centre-piece, occupies a plain two hundred and 
fifty feet above the sea, — or higher than Bunker Hill Monument, as the Lex- 
ingtonians are fond of putting it, — surrounded, with the exception of the 



LEXINGTON. 147 

northern and south-eastern sides, by lovely hills. Of the latter, Granny's Hill 
(or Hancock Heights, as some call it), the loftiest, commands the most exten- 
sive view ; but pretty sweeps of landscape are to be enjoyed from all of tliem. 
The numerous historic spots, buildings, and monuments, wliich are preserved 
with pious care, are duly marked, and in the Memorial Hall, with its statues and 
portraits, is an interesting museum of Revolutionary relics free to the public. 
The town is in four districts : East Lexington, the Centre, the Soutli Part, and 
North Lexington. It was named, presumably by Governor Joseph Dudley, for 
Lord Lexington, an English nobleman at tliat time of some prominence, to 
wliose family, the Suttons, Dudley was allied, or desired to be so considered ; 
although Mr. "William H. Whitmore, a recognized authority on colonial history, 
contends that the name was suggested by Laxton, sometimes spelled Lexing- 
ton, in Nottinghamshire, Eng., from which one of the early settlers came. 
Lexington, Kentucky, was named by its pioneer settlers in 177.5, " in lienor of 
that glorious field where the rebels of Massachusetts had died but a few weeks 
before, resisting the encroachments of their king ; " and in later days the 
liistoric name was bestowed upon numerous other places in various parts of 
the country, twenty-four in all. 

Walk a. At East Lexington Station we are within a stone's-throw 
of Massachusetts Avenue, about a mile above Arlington Heights, 
where the electric car line from Boston ends. Taking Massachu- 
setts Avenue we turn to the right, and stroll in the direction of 
Lexington Centre, two miles beyond. Over to the northeast lie 
the " Great Meadows," half SAvamp and half pond, developed into 
the Arlington Reservoir, with Mt. Ephraim near the northeasterly 
end, rising two hundred feet. At the junction of the Avenue and 
Pleasant Street, which makes off at the left with a picturesque 
bend, we come upon the fii-st of the series of historic tablets set 
up by the townspeople, and the latest one placed, — in 1894 (given 
by the AYellington family). This commemorates the brave deeds 
of a Lexington patriot of 1775 during the British retreat : — 

Near this spot 
at early dawn on the 

19th of April 1775 

Benjamin Wellington 

a minute man 

was surx^rised by British 

scouts axid disarmed. 

With imdaunted courage 

he borrowed another gun and 

hastened to join his comrades 

on Lexington Green. 

He also served his country 

at White Plains and 

Saratoga. 

Tlie first armed man 

taken in the Revolution. 

The tablet is so placed, against the green between the joining 
roads and back of the raised platform around the town pump, that 
its inscription may easily be read from a carriage as well as by the 
foot-passer. Pleasant Street leads over to the old Concord Turn- 
pike, now called Aveniie, to meet the modern demand for urban 
titles for country thoroughfares, and to the neighborhood of the 



148 LEXINGTON. 

homesteads and farms of tlie Wellingtons of the present day, the 
worthy descendants of this faithful soldier of the Revolution ^nd 
fine old country squire. It is an enjoyahle by-walk or ride by way 
of Pleasant Sti'eet and connecting roads — Watertown Street, the 
first turn on the left, and Valley Street, on the left from Water- 
town Street — to Arlington Heights, a distance of about two miles. 
Continuing along Massachusetts Avenue, and keeping to the right 
sidewalk, we pass a succession of interesting structures, each more 
or less historic. The little octagonal church, with slender spire, is 
the FoUen Church (Unitarian), planned by the Rev. Dr. Charles 
Follen, of fragrant memory, whose valuable life was lost, with so 
many others, in the burning of the Long Island Sound steamer Lex- 
ington, in January, 1840. He was returning from a visit to New York 
to attend the dedication of this meeting-house, and on that occasion 
the congregation, whom no word of the disaster had reached, " as- 
sembled for the service and waited long for their beloved pastor." 
The broad, low mansion-house with pillared porch, after the 
Greek fashion, next below the church, and now the Stone Building 
(East Lexington branch of the Public Library), was Dr. Follen's 
home, and here before the building of his meeting-house he preached 
to his neighbors. 

Ralph Waldo Emerson, who was minister of the little society in 1836-37, also 
preached in this house. Another minister of the same period was John S. 
D wight, who became later identified with Brook Farm [see Walk No. 30], 
and in after years the widely known musical critic and editor of " Dwight's 
Journal of Music." Of Emerson's preaching here Dr. Edward Emerson gives 
this anecdote in the memoir of his father : " He was reading one of the old ser- 
mons ; suddenly he stopped and said quietly, ' The passage which I have just 
read I do not believe, but it was wrongly placed.' " 

Just above the church we come to the Jonathan Harrington 
house, a plain homestead, behind a row of old trees close to the 
sidewalk line, which tells its story in the tablet on its face : — 

Home of 
Jonathan Harrington 

last survivor of 

the Battle of Lexington 

Born July 8, 1756 : died March 27, 1854. 

Harrington was the fifer-boy of Captain Parker's company of 
minute-men. 

It is related that, when the alarm was given in the early morning before the 
fight, Harrington's mother went to his chamber door and roused him from 
sleep, calling, " Jonathan ! Jonathan! Get up ! the British are coming and 
something must be done ! " 

A little way above we should stop a moment before the immense 
elm on the lower corner of Maple Street, known to have been set 
out as a twig in 1740. It measures sixteen feet in circumference, 



LEXINGTON. 149 

and ranks with the other famous ehns of New England. The fair 
estate on the opposite corner, with its fine chisters of ehiis and oaks, 
and large red house of old-time pattern (back from its original site, 
which was nearer the roadway), was formerly the Peirce home- 
stead, and is now the surmiier place of Mr. Rhodes Lockwood, of 
Boston. Maple Street leads down to Peirce 's Bridge station, close 
by, and continues across to the Lowell Turnpike, about a mile off. 

Now crossing to the west side of the avenue and going back to 
Locust Avenue, opening nearly opposite the Jonathan Harrington 
house, we turn into the latter road to make Mount Independence 
(320 feet), the height beyond, and to enjoy what an experienced 
Appalachian Club walker has happily termed the Ridge Walk, 
thx'ough a choice bit of rural Lexington, in the general direction 
which the main road takes. It is a short and easy ascent of the 
little mount by the way we have chosen. As we near the top of 
the road and look toward the left, the peak ajipears marked by a 
large pine standing slightly apart from its fellows. A narrow foot- 
path from the roadside tends toward the peak but not to it, and, 
shortly leaving this path, we make a bee-line across the field or 
pasture for the lonely pine. The rocky surface of the summit 
reached, we have a fine sweep of view, embracing from north to 
south the distant sea, Boston, and its neighboring cities ; to the 
eastward, the Blue Hills, with Arlington Heights and Turkey 
Hill in the foreground ; in nearer foreground, to the northeast, the 
village of East Lexington, and the picturesque " Great Meadows " 
behind it ; to the westward, Wachusett and Monadnock. Quite 
imposing cliffs, thickly clad with trees and vines, form the eastern 
edge of the peak, while the side by which we ascended is a gentle 
slope. 

Turning westward we start upon the Ridge "Walk. Taking a 
path Avhich leads toward the first stone wall, we follow it thx'ough 
an opening in this wall, then, bearing to the right, cross the wide 
hill-pasture to another wall, barbed-wired, save for one small 
opening through which we may safely crawl, and thence enter 
narrower pastures, where the ridge is more distinctly marked. 
Along these pastures the walk continues, Avith groves on the one 
side and extended views beyond the ridge on the other, at length 
finishing at Middle Street (now one of the new State Highways) in 
the valley. Nearing the street, we pass over a section of golf 
grounds. Entering the street by the pasture-gate and turning to 
the right, a few paces bring us to a private road, on the left side, 
which leads through the beautiful hillside estate of Colonel Wil- 
liam A. Tower to Muuroe Hill and the Munroe Tavern neighbor- 
hood. But we may reach the hill and the tavern direct from our 



150 LEXINGTON. 

Ridge Walk, without passing through the Tower place, by way of 
the field immediately opposite the pasture-gate through which we 
enter the highway, crossing the stone wall comfortably by the 
steps built over it for the benefit of golfers. Along the hill-slope 
from this field we are on the main links of the Lexington Golf 
Club, and in a neighborhood of attractive estates. 

Munroe H ill is peculiar for its growth of savin trees standing 
out ujion its sides and summit like grim sentinels. From the top 
of the hill we have tlie full view to the northwest, which is in part 
cut off from Mount Independence by the grove fringing the pasture 
back of the peak. It is a view of quiet beauty here outspread, 
embracing the village in the foreground, Woburn hills north- 
eastward, chains of peaceful hillocks, with the "Parker Pine" 
[see page 153] lifting its long branches above masses of trees 
around to the southward. Stepping back a few rods due west, 
and looking through a little avenue of savins, we get a glimpse of 
Boston (at night Boston Light may be clearly discerned from this 
point) ; then turning we gaze upon a pastoral scene and across the 
broad acres of Valley Field Farm. 

We leave Munroe Hill by way of Warren Street, passing Can- 
non Rock at the left, near the corner of Washington Street, 
where Lord Percy jilanted one of his field-pieces to command the 
village during the British retreat. From Warren Street we turn 
into Percy Road, which brings us to the Munroe Tavern and 
again to Massachusetts Avenue. In the old barn of the estate, 
made picturesque by woodbine spreading over its outer walls, we 
find the unique quarters of the Lexington Golf Club. The big 
barn doors are hospitably open, and, entering, we cannot fail to be 
charmed with the manner in which the place has been made 
comfortable, while the old-fashioned interior features have been re- 
tained. Where the cattle staUs once were are now lockers. The 
main floor, open to the full hay-lofts under the roof, is fitted for 
general club uses, and in cosy corners at the rear are, on one side, 
kitchen utensils, and, on the other, paraphernalia for "afternoon 
tea." In the season delightful meets of club members, including 
both sexes, are frequent here, and especially on pleasant Saturday 
afternoons the place is animated with gay parties coming together 
informally, the golf-players in their easy costumes, others in 
bicycle dress. 

The ancient tavern, set upon a green knoll slightly above the 
highway, shaded by noble elms in front and maples studding the 
side-lawn, is in pleasing contrast with the modern estates of 
the neighborhood, a picture charming to the artist eye. The 
house, as we now see it, is but a portion of the inn of Revolu- 



LEXINGTON. 



151 



tionary days, but it is the older portion and the most historic. On 
the left of the small entrance hall is the room in which the British 
wounded were cared for during- the few hours of Percy's occupancy 
of the tavern as his headquarters : on the right is the old bar- 
room where the British soldiers were freely served with liquors 
by an inoffensive old man who had tarried behind, and whom they 




Munroe Tavern. 



finally killed while he was trying to escape from a rear door ; 

where the furniture of the sacked house was piled and set afire 

when the retreat was resumed ; and in which the bullet-hole made 

by a British musket-ball is still seen in the ceiling-. The narrow 

stairway from the entrance hall is the same which Washington 

ascended to the dining-room in the southeast part of the second 

story, when he dined here on the 5th of November, 1789, during 

his last journey through New England, and afterward " viewed 

the spot on which the first blood was spilt on the 19th of April, 

1775," as he recorded in his Diary ; and in the hall stands the 

chair in which he sat at the solemn meal. The old house, long 

since abandoned as a tavern, is now reverently preserved as a 

landmark of American history by its present owner, Mr. William 

H. Munroe, a direct descendant of the first William Munroe who 

maintained it as a "house of public entertainment" long before 

the Revolution, The tablet on its face, bearing the following brief 

inscription, was placed some years ago : — 

Earl Percy's 

headquarters and hospital 

April 19, 1775. 

The Miniroe Tavern 

built 1695. 



152 LEXINGTON. 

The ancient sign, showing a hospitable punch-bowl, which used 
to swing fi'om one of the front elms, is now preserved in the Town 
Hall. 

Munroe's was a prosperous tavern until the advent of the railroad, " always 
a homelike and inviting place. The doors were never locked. Many parties, 
or balls as they were ambitiously styled, were given here." [Edward P. Bliss, 
on " The Old Taverns of Lexington."] The dance hall was the upper room of 
an ell built by the second William Munroe, after 1770, on the north side of the 
house, with gable end toward the road. He also added the rear part. The 
ell was not removed till some years after the closing of the place as a tavern. 

Munroe Station, picturesquely framed by open field, fringes of 
grove, and side meadow, is but a few steps below the ancient 
tavern, slightly back from the curving avenue, rich in bordering 
elms ; and between the tavern and the station, on the east side of 
the avenue, are the old Munroe homesteads, within lovely grounds 
beautified by a wealth of trees. Nearly opposite the tavern is the 
Mason mansion-house, standing at the time of the British raid, 
and then occupied by the Mason family. 

Taking the avenue again (we are now at a point about half a 
mile above Locust Avenue, where we left it), we proceed west- 
ward to the central village, finding interesting landmarks on either 
side, with attractive houses, old and new, in well-kept grounds. 
Near Bloomfield Street, on the left, we observe the tablet mark- 
ing the neighborhood of Percy's cannon, — Cannon Rock, which we 
passed on Munroe Hill, — and thus inscribed : — 

On the hill to the south 

was planted 

one of the British field pieces 

April 19, 1775, 

to command the village 

and its approaches. 

And near this place 

several buildings were burned. 

Among the buildings destroyed was the old shop of Nathaniel 
Mulliken, the famous clock-maker, who made a fortune from his 
clocks of the tall hall style, which stood on or near this spot ; and 
also the homestead near by, at that time occupied by his widow. 
When the warning of the British approach came, she hid her silver 
and other valuables in the well still here and fled. 

A little way beyond, on the right side, is the old Town Hall, 
now the High School house, with the stone cannon on the further 
side, indicating the spot (on the hill which once was here) where 
Percy's other field-piece was planted, pointing in the direction 
of the old meeting-hoiase then standing on the Green beyond. 
" Probably," says the writer of the Handbook of Lexington^ 
"here was fired the shot which passed through the sacred edifice 



LEXINGTON. 153 

and lodged in the ground beyond." This stone piece is thus in- 
scribed : — 

Near this spot 

Earl Percy 

with reiuforcements 

planted a field-piece 

to cover the retreat 

of the 

British troops 

April 19, 1775. 

A few rods above, on the same side, we pass the picturesque 
Russell House, the modern inn of Lexington, po^Jular especially 
as a summer hotel ; and, well within the village, the building 
which was originally the Massachusetts Building at the Cen- 
tennial Exhibition in Philadelphia in 187G. The latter was brought 
here after the fair, and, reconstructed, was used as a hotel for 
many years. It is now a Keeley institute. We come next to the 
rather stiff Town Hall, the architecture of which, however, is for- 
gotten, after it is once entered, in the interest awakened by its 
historic contents. But we are now to pass directly by it, reserving 
the visit to the museum within for the finishing feature of our 
walk. 

Waltham Street, opening from the avenue, directly opposite the 
Town Hall, leads over toward the birthplace of Theodore 
Parker. This is about two miles off, across Middle Street, on 
Spring Street. The homestead was also the birthplace of Parker's 
grandfather, and of Captain John Parker, the captain of the Lex- 
ington minute-men. The site of the house in which Theodore 
was born, close to the cottage now on the place, is marked by a 
stone monviment, set up by loving friends not long after his death. 
It bears the simple inscription, "Birthplace of Theodore Parker, 
1810." The region round about is picturesque, and of peculiar 
interest from association with Parker's boyhood. The ledgy 
steep Avith its sparse covering of trees, rising back of the house, 
where he used to study his books, is still here ; so is the ash-tree 
planted by him in the yard. The woods he loved, in part still 
remain ; and down the turnpike a half mile or so, on a roadside 
hill toward Arlington, is the double-headed pine, towering above 
its neighbors, yet known as the " Parker Pine," — a much be- 
loved friend of his, which he daily passed, and sometimes studied 
under, on his way to the district school, and, when the woods of 
which it was a part were cut, was spared from the axe by his 
earnest plea. The house in which he first saw the light, a hun- 
dred years old at that time, was built by his great-grandfather, 
who came to Lexington from Reading early in the eighteenth 
centurj", and the farm has been the ''Parker farm" from that 



154 LEXINGTON. 

day. The walk over to the homestead is an agreeable " by-walk '" 
past pleasant places. If we elect to ride, we might extend the 
drive to include the "Brook Street Drive," as outlined in the 
Lexington Handbook, — from Spring Street to Lincoln Street, 
the fourth right hand road beyond the Parker place ; thence 
northwest a few rods to Brook Street ; thence for about a mile to 
Winter Street, the first right hand road, and so on northwest for 
two miles to Lincoln Centre, returning to Lexington by Lincoln 
Street. 

To return to our present walk. A few rods beyond the Town 
Hall we are at the Green, or Lexington Common, as it is oflBi- 
cially named, with its monuments marking historic points, and its 
historic surroundings. No fairer Green, nor more picturesquely 
framed, is to be found in all the fair villages of Eastern Massa- 
chusetts. The object which first engages our attention, because 
the nearest, is the stone pulpit marking the site of the earlier 
meeting-houses, including the second one, here in 1775, around 
which the British soldiers swung on that momentous April morn- 
ing ; where the town's powder was stored ; and into which the 
bodies of the killed were brought after the attack. The in- 
scription cut on the broad face of this monument gives these sta- 
tistics : — 

Site of the first three 
meeting-houses of Lexington. 

No. 1. 

Built in 1 f 92 when the town 

was a precinct of Cambridge. 

No. 2. 

Built in 1713 on the 

incorporation of Lexington. 

No. 3. 

Built in 1794. 

Burned in 1846. 

This spot is identified with 

the town's history for 150 years. 

On the reverse of the stone is a list of the first seven ministers, 
which includes the names of John Hancock, grandfather of Gov- 
ernor John Hancock, who was pastor for fifty-five years (1698- 
1752) ; and Jonas Clarke, the patriot minister of the Revolutionary 
period, whose service covered fifty years (1755-1805), ending, like 
that of Parson Hancock, only with his death. 

The young elm shading the stone was planted by General Grant 
in 1875, on the occasion of the centennial celebration of the battle. 

The old belfry which in 1775 stood by the meeting-house, and 
from which the alarm rung out, is now near its original site, on 
Belfry HiU, Clarke Street, in a field at the side of the Hancock 
Schoolhouse, a few steps from the Green. This oddly-fashioned 



LEXINGTON. 



155 



structure was first erected in 17G1, and six years later moved to 
the Common, where it stood until the building of the third meet- 
ing-house, in 1794. Then it was sold by the town to John Parker, 
Theodore Parker's father, who carted it over to the Parker farm, 
and put it to service as a wheelwright or general workshop ; and 
it remained on the Parker place until its restoration to Belfry Hill 
by the Lexington Historical Society in 1891. 




\ ' "■' • t/iv ', 






The Old Belfry. 

Let us now cross over to the right side of the Green and take a 
look at the ancient Buckman Tavern, which was the rendezvous 
of the minute-men. It stands to-day barred and tenantless, in 
old-fashioned grounds, a lonely monument of olden times. In 
1775 it had six outbuildings, and was the chief inn of the place. 
During the affair on the Green shots were fired from it, and a vol- 
ley was returned by the redcoats, the bullets piercing some of its 
clapboards. These are carefully preserved within the house. On 
the British retreat two wounded soldiers were brought into the 



156 



LEXINGTON. 



main room, where one of them died and was buried with others in 
an unmarked grave in the okl hurying-ground behind the Unita- 
rian Church, which we shall shortly visit. The date of the tavern 
and some of these facts are given on the tablet on its street 

side : — 

Built 1G90. Known 

as the 

Buckman Tavern 

A rendezvous of the 

Minute Men. 

A mark for British bullets 

April 19, 1775. 

Deserted as it is, the house is yet a well-preserved type of colonial 
architecture. The dormer windows were built in some time after 







The Buckman Tavern. 

the Revolution, when the structure was about a century old, but 
the low ell running ont cornerwise, we are told, is as old as the 
house. [Bhss's "Old Taverns of Lexington."] Inside, the open 
timbers appear in the ceilings, and there are roomy fireplaces, one 
of them set in brown Dutch tiles. 

Buckman's was continued as a tavern until near to railroad days, and like 
the Munroe Tavern was, in its later years, fniiious as a place for dances and 
winter suppers by sleighing parties. The Buckman who kept it in 1775 was 
one of Captain Parker's company. 

The aged tree on the roadside near the tavern is supposed to 
be upward of a century and a half old, and is distinguished, so 
the placard on its branches states, as the tree to which ropes were 



LEXINGTON. 



157 



attached "in raising the steeple of the new meeting-house," — 
the one built in 1794. 

On the Green again, near the npper corner, is the boulder mark- 
ing the line of Captain Pai'ker's men when they received the 
British fire, the inscription, decorated with musket and powder- 
horn, reading : — 

Line of the Minute Men 

April 19, 1775. 

" Stand your ground 

Don't fire unless fired upon 

But if they mean to have a war 

Let it begin here." 

Captain Parker. 

The fowling-piece which Captain Parker carried on that day now 
hangs in the Senate chamber of the State House in Boston, with 
the first gun captured from the British in the war, both gifts of 
Theodore Parker. 







The Harrington House. 



Across the way on beautiful Elm Avenue, facing the Green, is 
the Harrington house, set sHghtly back from the sidewalk, thus 
inscribed : — 

House of 

Jonathan Harrington 

who, wounded on the Common 

April 19, 1775, 

dragged himself to the door 

and died at his wife's feet. 



158 LEXINGTON. 

Next beyond, toward the church, stood the house of Daniel Har- 
rington, whose wife was Anna, daughter of Ensign Robert Mun- 
roe, the first man to be struck down by the British bullets. 
Daniel Harrington was clerk of Captain Parker's company and 
was in the line with his son. 

Passing to the west side of the Green we come to the venerable 
monuraent, of simjjle design, its severe lines in these later days 
softened by the close-clinging ivy covering most of its base and 
thick cone. It dates from the last century, having been erected 
by the State in 1799, the last stone put in place on the Fourth of 
July that year. Its elaborate inscription of high-sounding note 
was the composition of Parson Clarke : — 

Sacred to Liberty and the Rights of Mankind ! ! ! 

The Freedom and Independence of America, 
Sealed and defended with the Blood of her Sous. 

This Monimient is erected 

By the inhabitants of Lexington, 

under the Patronage & at the expense of 

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 

To the memory of their Fellow-Citizens, 

Ensign Robert Muuroe, and Messrs. Jonas Parker, 

Samuel Hadley, Jonathan Harrington, Juur., 

Isaac Muzzy, Caleb Harrington and John Brown 

Of Lexington, and Asahel Porter, of Woburn, 

Who fell on this Field, the First Victims to the 

Sword of British Tyranny and Oppression, 

On the morning of the ever memorable 

Nineteenth of April, An. Dom. 1775. 

The Die was cast ! ! ! 

The Blood of these Martyr's 

In the cause of God & their country 

Was the Cement of the Union of these States, then 

Colonies, and gave the spring to the spirit. Firmness 

And resolution of their Fellow-Citizens. 

They rose as one Man to revenge their brethren's 

Blood, and at the Point of the Sword, to assert & 

Defend their native Rights. 

They nobly dar'd to be free ! ! 

The contest was long, bloody & affecting. 

Righteous Heaven approved the solemn appeal. 

Victory crowned their arms and 

The Peace, Liberty, and Independence of the United 

States of America, was their glorious Reward. 

In the stone vault at the rear of the monuraent are now de- 
posited the remains of the patriots who fell in the engagement, 
removed to this place, from the common grave in the old burying- 
ground where they were first buried, in 1835, on the sixtieth anni- 
versary of the affair. They are gathered into a sarcophagus, upon 
the top of which are carved eight urns representing the number of 
the slain. Their formal removal to this more fitting tomb was in 
the presence of a distinguished gathering, and it was the occasion 
of the eloquent oration of Edward Everett, which so broadened 
the orator's fame. 



LEXINGTON. 



159 



The sarcophagus " was borne from the cemetery to the meeting-house, fol- 
lowed by ten survivors of the battle, and escorted by the militarj^ companies 
of the town, with along procession of invited guests and citizens of Lexing- 
ton. ... A great congregation had gathered to witness the ceremonies. . . . 
It was an inspiring audience, including many of the most prominent and 
distinguished men of the State, among whom were Chief Justice Story, Presi- 
dent Quincy of Harvard College, Daniel Webster, and Lieutenant-Governor 
Armstrong." [Rev. C. A. Staples, "History of Lexington Common."] At 
the conclusion of the oration the procession reformed, and the sarcophagus, 
borne as before, was escorted to the vault, into which it was slowly lowered, 
the military companies firing three volleys over the spot. 







■^frfi}^><^^^^ 



The Battle Monument. 



In front of this monument distinguished visitors have been for- 
mally received, among them Lafayette in 1824, Kossuth in 1851, 
and, in later times, famous generals of the Civil War. The little 
mound upon which it stands used to be known as Schoolhouse 
Hill, from the fact that here the first two town schoolliouses 
stood. 

Just below the monument, on the opposite side of the street, 
the ancient slant-roofed house, bearing the following inscription, 



160 



LEXINGTON. 



was the house toward which Caleb Harrington was running when 
he was shot. He had been to the meeting-house to get pow- 
der: — 

House of 

Marrett and Nathan 

Munroe 

built 1729 

a witness of the battle. 

Having now covered the historic features of the Green, let us 
spend a few moments in the quaint old burying-ground back of 
the First Parish Church on Elm Avenue. The entrance, we find, 
is by a sweet rural lane. Though but a step off from the thor- 
oughfare it is a serene, secluded spot. At the turn of the lane is 




The Ancient Graveyard. 

a curious, long and narrow headstone, bearing an early date, 
which records the deaths of six children of one family, all occur- 
ring within twelve days. Numerous quaint and curious epitaphs 
are cut upon the ancient stones, the oldest with date of IGDO ; 
but what makes the place of especial historical interest are the 
monuments to Captain John Parker and to Governor Eustis, the 
tombs of the revered ministers of the First Church, Hancock and 
Clarke, and the graves of numerous Revolutionary soldiers. The 
Parker monument is the most modern of these memorials, having 



LEXINGTON. 161 

been set up in 1884, and the Eustis monument is the most elab- 
orate. The latter contains the following inscription : — 

Bom in Cambridge, 1752, died in Boston, 1825. 



He served his country as a surgeon through the 

Revolutionary War. In her political 

affairs he subsequently took an active lead. 

He successively filled the distinguished places of 

secretary at war of the United States 

envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary 

at the court of the Netherlands, 

representative to the National Congress 

and governor of the Commonwealth 

of Massachusetts. 

Returning to Elm Avenue and bearing to the left, we soon reach 
Hancock Street, into which we turn for the walk to the Hancock- 
Clarke house, which is in some respects the most interesting and 
important historic structure in the town. The old building at the 
junction of the streets, now displajdng the sign "Historic Hall," 
is distinguished as the house of the first normal school in America, 
established in 1840, with the Rev. Cyrus Peirce, or "Father 
Peirce," his usual title, as the first teacher, and the gentle-souled 
Samuel J. May, the second. It was originally built in 1822, for 
the Lexington Academy, a notable institution in the golden days 
of the New England seminary. After the removal of the normal 
school to West Newton, in 1845, it became the meeting-house of 
the Orthodox Congregational Society, which now occupies the 
stone church opposite, facing the Green. 

Hancock Street is one of the most beautiful of Lexington's fair 
ways, lined with handsome trees, pleasant houses, and a number 
of old estates, notably on the right side, having extensive grounds 
on upland with gardens and groves. The Hancock-Clarke house, 
now on the right side of the street, about a quarter of a mile above 
Elm Street, stood originally on the opposite side, by the magnificent 
elm, in grounds of modern fashion. The venerable house was there 
placed, sideways to the road, within a small old-fashioned yard, the 
ell-side picturesquely adorned with a clumi) of shinibbery, and a 
hospitable pump close to the little entrance door. It stood on its 
original site until the autumn of 1896, when, the owner of the lot, 
with no reverence for historic treasures, determining to raze it, the 
Lexington Historical Society became its purchaser and removed it 
to its present place. The great tree is called the Clarke elm, hav- 
ing been set out by Parson Clarke upward of a century ago. It is 
a famous specimen of the weeping willow type of elm. Its graceful 
spread measures nearly if not quite ninety feet. The tablet on the 
side of the house bears this iiiscription : — 



162 LEXINGTON. 

Built 1698 — Enlarged 1734. 

Residence of 
Rev. John Hancock 55 years 

And of his Successor 
Rev. Jonas Clarke 50 years. 

Here Samuel Adams & 

John Hancock were sleeping 

When aroused by Paul Revere 

April 19, 1775. 

Entering by the side-door to the ell, we are within the structure 
which served as parsonage for Parson Hancock for thirty-six 
years, the front portion having been built on in the enlargement. 
In this oldest part, not more than twenty-four feet in length and 
eighteen in width, of one story with cramped attic, the five 
children of Parson Hancock were born and lived to young man- 
hood and womanhood. The ancient interior is yet well preserved. 
The stout beams of the heavy fi'ame protrude in the low-studded 
rooms. The dining, or possibly the early family living room, is 
wainscoted to the ceiling ; the kitchen is replete with old-fashioned 
cupboards; and off from the dining-room is the snuggery which 
we are told was the parson's study. Passing into the front part, 
we find the rooms spacious and almost elegant as compared with 
those of the older part. The room in which Adams and Hancock 
were sleeping, when roused by Paul Revere's midnight warning, 
was the southwest room of the second story. From the front win- 
dows Parson Clarke, Madam Lydia Hancock, widow of Thomas 
Hancock, the Boston merchant, and Dorothy Quincy, Hancock's 
sweetheart, saw the beginning of the affair on the Green. As 
Madam Hancock was looking out of the front door, a bullet 
wliizzed by her head. Adams and Hancock made their hurried 
departure for Woburn Precinct (now Burlington) by the ell door, 
taking a chaise, — Sergeant Munroe, of the guard of eight men 
from Captain Parker's company who had been stationed about the 
houses, piloting them. The ladies followed later in Hancock's 
coach . 

The old part of this house was built by the Rev. John Hancock about a year 
after his coming to Lexington from Cambridge (his birthplace) as minister of 
the First Parish. It was surroutided by a farm of comfortable proportions, 
which the minister tilled. Of his children born here, John, the elder, became 
minister of Braiutree (Quincy) ; Ebeuezer became his colleague in the First 
Parish and died young, in 1740 ; Thomas became the rich merchant of Boston, 
and builder of the famous Hancock mansion-house, which his nephew John, 
son of John the elder son, inherited ; Elizabeth, the elder daughter, mar- 
ried Jonathan Bowman, minister of Dorchester ; and Lucy married Nicholas 
Bowes, first minister of Bedford. The front addition to the house was built 
by Thomas Hancock, after he had become prosperous, for the comfort of his 
father ; and the homestead was otherwise improved by him. 

The Rev. Jonas Clarke came here to live in 1757, two years after his install- 
ment as minister of the church, and upon his marriage with Lucy, daughter 
of Nicholas and Lucy Bowes, and granddaughter of Parson Hancock. They 
began their married life in the old homestead with Madam Hancock, who 



LEXINGTON. 163 

survived her husband eight years (he died in 1752), aud after her death Parson 
Clarke purchased the place from Thomas Hancock, in whose name it had been. 
Here they reared twelve children, six sons and six daugliters. Four of the 
daugliters married clergymen : Dr. Henry Ware HoUis, professor of divinity 
at Harvard ; Dr. William Harris, president of Columbia College ; Dr. Thaddeus 
Fiske, of West Cambridge ; aud Dr. Benjamin Green, of West Medway. The 
old house has indeed been a " prolific hive of ministers," as Mr. Staples has said 
in his historical notes on Lexington, " no less than twenty-five having been 
bom there, or descended from those who were, or were in some way connected 
with it. . . . It was the home of a wide aud generous hospitality. The most 
cultivated people of New England, college presidents and professors, states- 
men, politicians, aud ministers, found genial companionship at Mr. Clarke's 
fireside." Dr. Clarke was an ardent patriot, and the parsonage became the 
rallyiug-point of many patriot leaders of Middlesex. Here their plans were 
formed, hence numerous documents issued. Here in the little snuggery, off 
from the old dining-room, perhaps, was written his " Brief NaiTative of the 
Principal Transactions of the 19th of April, 1775," appended to a sermon 
preached by liim in tlie old Lexington church ou the first anniversary of the 
engagement. 

Continuing up Hancock Street a few rods beyond the Hancock- 
Clarke house, we come to the Hayes estate, on the right, with its 
stone " castle," through the grounds of which we reach Granny's 
Hill. This sightly eminence acquired its homely name, it is sup- 
posed, from its occupancy at one time by an ancient dame of the 
type known in colony days as " old grannies," and not, as has 
frequently been stated, from the fact — or theory — that the Brit- 
ish Grenadiers occupied it during the retreat of the Nineteenth. 
Several years ago the town, feeling that the name lacked dignity, 
voted in town meeting assembled to change it to Hancock Heights ; 
but fortunately the quaint old appellation could not be shaken o£F, 
and the grand new one has become merely a " matter of record," 
The hill is embraced in the Hayes estate, a domain of many hun- 
dred acres kept like an English park. Since the place is not at all 
times open to the public it is well to seek Mr. James Comlej^ its 
famous gardener (whose exhibitions, by the way, at the horticul- 
tural shows in Boston are prize-winners year after year), and obtain 
from him permission to pass through. The road to the hill is by 
banks of flowers. The view from its summit is a fine one, havmg 
the features of that from Munroe Hill on a broader scale. 

We may leave the hill by the southeast side, and, again outside 
the estate, may make our winding way, by cross streets and a 
sweet pine grove, back toward the Green. On the return, we must 
take in the Goodwin estate, occupying a picturesque hillock over- 
looking the Green, upon which at the southeast side of the house 
we observe this inscription marked on a tablet set into the svirface 
of a flat rock : — 

On this hill 

Samuel Adams 

hearing the fire of the 

British troops, April 19, 1775 

exclaimed to Hancock 

" What a glorious morning for America ! " 



164 LEXINGTON. 

History records that this remark was made by Adams as he was 
walking in a field after the day had dawned, and at that time, ac- 
cording to the best authorities, he was with Hancock two miles 
away ; although we have in the reminiscences of Madam Scott — 
the Dorothy Quincy whom Hancock married, and who, when a 
widow, became the wife of Captain Scott — the statement that 
Adams and Hancock left the parsonage at about " the break of 
day." 

Having now made the circuit of the village and reached the end 
of this walk, we may spend an interesting half hour before train 
time in the museum of relics in the Memorial Hall of the Town 
House. Over the arch at the entrance of the octagon constituting 
the hall we read this inscription : — 

Lexington 

consecrates this hall and its emblems 

to the memory of the 

founders and the sustainers of our free institutions. 

The four life-size marble statues occupying the niches lend dignity 
to the hall, which is further embellished by memorial tablets, 
valued portraits, and curious old prints. The statue at the left as 
we enter represents " The Minute Man of '75," by Conrad ; that at 
the right, "The Union Soldier" of the Civil War; opposite the 
Minute Man is the John Hancock by Thomas R. Gould ; and 
opposite the Union Soldier, the Samuel Adams by Martin Milmore. 
The tablets entitled " The Pledge and its Redemption," and " The 
Sons defended what the Fathers won," — the former giving the 
response of Lexington to the Appeal of Boston, December 18, 1773, 
with the names of those who fell on the 19th of April, 1775, and the 
latter displaying the names of Lexington men who fell in the Civil 
War, — are fittingly placed, the one by the Minute Man and the 
other by tlie Union Soldier. Of the museum, the ^nece de resistance 
are Major Pitcairn's pistols, captured on the day of the battle, and 
used through the Revolution by General Israel Putnam. Here are 
also the tongue of the bell which hung in the old belfry and rung 
the alarm upon Paul Revere's arrival, old flint-lock muskets, relics 
of Washington, and so on. Among broadsides is a photograph of 
the original report of the British attack which was dispatched 
through the country on the afternoon of the Nineteenth. In the 
Town Hall, above stairs, to which access can be had by asking in 
the Selectmen's Room, is Henry Sandham's spirited painting of 
the Battle of Lexington. After " doing" the museum we should 
step across the corridor into Library Hall, and take a brief survey 
of the Gary Public Library, fostered by Mrs. Maria Cary, who 
also contributed liberally to the erection of this building. 



LEXINGTON. 165 

We take the train for the return to Boston at the Lexingfton 
Centre Station, three minutes' walk from the Town House. 

Walk h. Starting at Munroe Station, from the right side of the 
railroad track, we take the meadow road, which runs up toward 
the Munroe farm stable and then makes to the left. This we 
follow to the branch road at the right, opposite the charming little 
knoll rising from the meadow, and, here turning, cross the bridge 
over the brook (along which in the finish of Walk No. 21 we 
gathered watercresses) and saunter toward the woods on the hill 
beyond. The approach is full of beauty, with the wide-spreading 
meadow on either side of the road, and the long wooded bank in 
the distance. Over to the left of this bank of green, the rustic 
little building of the Lexington Spring Water Company appears, 
pressed apparently into a mass of trees. 

The hill reached, our road (which, by the waj^ was built by Mr. 
James S. Munroe purely for a pleasure drive) follows the winding 
ridge of the well-defined kame for about a mile, picturesque 
throughout. Both sides of the narrow roadbed are densely over- 
grown with a variety of vegetation rarely found in so short a walk. 
Brakes and ferns, vines of the hollows, birches, berry-bushes, and 
occasional groves of pine, charm the lover of nature, while to the 
botanist the region is a profitable hunting-field. We tread a soft 
and mossy path, even the wheel-ruts grass-grown to the very edges. 
The rural road emerges, f roni clustering trees, uijon Maple Street, 
about a mile and a half from our start. The right turn into this 
street would take iis over to Peirce's Bridge and Massachusetts 
Avenue, about a half mile off. We turn, however, to the left, and 
follow the street (it should be called road) northward for half 
a mile to the old Lowell Turnpike, in which it finishes. Turning 
to the right, we keep the turnpike until we reach the estate on the 
left marked by a tall red water-tower, and locally known as the 
old Beard estate, from having been for some years owned and 
occupied as a summer place by Mr. Alanson W. Beard, sometime 
collector of the port of Boston. 

Here leaving the turnpike, which continues a pleasant country 
road for two miles to Arlington Heights, we follow the line of the 
abandoned road at the left (the old Winchester road) just below 
the great barn, and cross northeastward into the broad fields of the 
estate. We are now entering a region of pleasant upland, and are 
soon confronted with the disturbing sign, " No Passing Through ; " 
but, by the kind permission of the i^resent owners of these pleasant 
pastures we may pass, upon condition that we tarry not by the way 
to pluck bush or flower, and keep as far as possible to the beaten 



166 LEXINGTON. 

paths. From the point where the indications of the old road fade, 
just beyond the stables, we follow the vined stone wall on the left 
a while, then, bearing still more to the left over the high ground, 
come to the little forest, which we enter by a well-beaten foot- 
path almost wide enough for a cart-road. Here we have a walk 
under leafy bowers and over mossy turf for about half a mile, when 
we reach a junction of cart-roads and strike the old road, again 
clearly defined. Keeping this way, after covering perhaps half a 
mile, we reach a point on the left side through which a charming 
view appears in the broad valley below. We are here looking 
toward Winchester and its hills. Continuing now down a slope, 
our road ends in a private way to the farm which was the feature 
of our view from the high ground. Taking the right turn, a short 
walk brings us to the public thoroughfare of Kidge Street at its 
junction with High Street. At this point, according to the guide- 
post, we are three miles from Arlington, and two and three 
quarters miles from East Lexington in one direction, and, in the 
other, three and a half miles from Woburn, and three and three 
quarters miles from Lexington Centre. The long distance from 
Lexington Centre is explained by the fact that, since the closing 
of the road over which we have in part passed, it is necessary to 
make quite a circuit to reach the town. 

We follow Ridge Street (to the right) to the junction of Forest 
and Fruit streets, and then, taking the right turn in Forest 
Street, swing down the long hill to Arlington, passing Turkey 
Hill, with its fertile vegetable farms almost to the top, on our 
left (the way followed, in the opposite direction, in Walk No. 16). 
Our walk properly ends at the junction of Forest Street and Mas- 
sachusetts Avenue, where we can take return electric ear to Bos- 
ton. If we prefer the steam car, we are within five minutes' walk 
of Arlington Heights Station ; and, if a train is to be waited for, 
we might ascend Arlington Heights, although this has been cov- 
ered in Walk No. 16. 

This walk, giving hill and valley, farm and forest, is regarded 
as one of the most delightful in this section. The region traversed 
is especially noteworthy for its brilliant colors in the autumn. 

Walk a. Over Tidd Hill and Robinson (formerly Davis) Hill, 
a "circuit" walk. We start from Lexington village by the his- 
toric Green northward. Taking Hancock Street, we are to follow 
this road, beyond the point at which we left it in Walk a, toward 
North Lexington. We again pass the site of the Hancock-Clarke 
house, and the great elm at its side, which fortunately cannot be 
removed, jjass the succession of attractive houses in well-kept 
grounds which in that walk interested us here, and admire as 



LEXINGTON. 167 

before the beauty of the way. Above Adams Street, which makes 
off at the right to Burlington, joining the Lowell Turnpike beyond 
the Lexington line, Haiacock Street enters more open country and 
gradually becomes a rural road, growing more picturesque as it 
advances. The handsome estate on elevated ground facing our 
street, occupying the noi'theast corner of Adams Street, is that of 
Mr. George 0. Whiting, a Boston business man. It commands a 
far-reaching view, a portion of which we may enjoy from the road 
looking off to the left. A little way beyond this modern country- 
seat, and on the same side of the way, we pass the Fisk house, 
of eighteenth-century fashion, also well set against a hillside 
above the road, and distinguished as a Revolutionary landmark, 
the tablet on its front giving the record : — 

Built 1732 — House of 

Dr. Joseph Fisk 

who attended the wounded 

April 19, 1775, & served in 

the colonial army as 
surgeon throughout the war. 

Our road bends more to the left, with fair prospects on either 
side, over pasture and hill. As Ave approach Revere Street on the 
left, which crosses over to Bedford Street, we see, in the clump of 
trees across the meadow on that side, the site of the Tidd farm- 
house, which stood for two hundred years, and was the hoiue of 
six generations of one of the prominent families of the town in 
years gone by, but now extinct. Here lived Lieutenant Tidd, who 
was second in rank to Captain Parker in the affair on the Green. 
The house stood in a picturesque spot by the side of North Brook, 
and was reached from the main road by the abandoned lane which 
we observe opening just above Revere Street. 

At the fork just beyond we take the left turn, which the guide- 
post here says leads to Bedford, while the right goes on to Bur- 
lington. We are yet on Hancock Street, although the Burlington 
road seems to be its more natural continuation, and we are now in 
the Tidd Hill region. To the fork, we have covei'ed about a mile 
from the village. At the turn, note the fine orchard on the left. 
We stroll up-grade a little way ; pass the Tidd schoolhouse, one of 
the oldest in the town ; observe the cheerful view over to the left, 
expanding as we ascend ; then just above the schoolhouse leave 
the road and take the field on the right, entering by the gate 
(which we should be careful to close after us), or by an easy 
scramble over the rail along the old stone wall. Crossing the field 
on the left slope of the hill, we enter the pine woods by the cart- 
road, and so proceed, steadily mounting a gentle grade, toward the 
summit of the hill. No lovelier woods in small compass are to be 
found within the limits of this rural town. The path almost to 



168 LEXINGTON. 

the end is wide enough for a carriage, hut it is yet a path and not 
a road, with soft, clean hed of pine needles over mossy ground. 
The woods finish in a straight line from east to west, along which 
runs a stone wall topped by barbed-wire fencing, but we find a 
safe exit at the eastern edge. 

We emerge in the open, the hill terminating in front of us in a 
knob-like knoll (320 feet above sea level), ascending which we 
have a rich view sweeping perhaps three quarters of the horizon. 
Facing northwesterly, the eye roams across a beautiful intervale of 
wide extent to the distant spires of Bedford, slightly to the left, 
in a mass of trees. Taking the view in detail, and beginning at 
the western edge of the pine-woods line behind us, and following 
around to the eastern edge, we see, first, the near-by hills along 
the Concord line ; broad Tophet Swamp ; then, against the hori- 
zon, the distant peak of Wachusett ; next in line, the round knob 
of Watatic, uj) in Ashburnham ; next, apparently almost behind 
Bedford village, Monadnock ; along to the right, the double peak 
of Pack Monadnock, near Peterborough ; then Joe English, in New 
Boston ; and, in the edge of the long banks of woods further right, 
the Uncanoonucs, in Goffstown, New Hampshire. This view is 
lovely in a clear summer forenoon, and especially fine at the ap- 
proach of sunset. 

We leave the hill by the old road or farm-lane at the left, be- 
tween stone walls, and, taking a short cut across the meadow at 
the foot, reach the Bedford road. Here we turn to the left. 
Our course is now for a quarter of a mile or so down this country 
road, across the railroad track by the North Lexington Station, 
and on to Revere Street, the beginning of which we passed on 
Hancock Street by the old Tidd farm. From the meadow to the 
railroad we have a continuous view across the fields of the long 
side of Tidd Hill, with its banks of trees, rich green if we are 
walking on a summer day, aglow with brilliant coloring if it be in 
mellow autumn. At Revere Street we take the right turn and 
enter the part of this road which goes by the captivating name of 
" Lovers' Lane," — a narrow, winding, tranquil way, bordered 
thick with bushes, trailing vines, and trees. It is something of a 
shock to learn that it leads to the poor-house, but before that 
melancholy finish is reached we imay turn our course to a cheerier 
goal. On the brow of the hill which the lane lazily mounts we 
turn to the left, and, slipping the fence-bar aside, enter a field- 
path bearing toward the svimmit ; but before making the turn let 
us step to the opposite side and absorb the view from the opening 
in the tree-line here. It is a peaceful landscape over which we 
gaze of valley, fertile meadow and field, and undulating ground 
round about and beyond. 



LEXINGTON. 



169 



We are now on Robinson Hill (340 feet). A sharp turn from 
the field-path brings ixs to its topmost part, a group of moss- 
capped rocks. Here we are twenty feet liigher than on Tidd Hill, 
but the view is less extensive, being contracted somewhat by the 
shape of this hill and its near surroundings. Yet it is a view of 
charming details, especially to the north and westward. South- 
east we have a pretty vista, opening a bit of Lexington and Arling- 
ton Heights to the view. Turning our steps in the latter direction 
along a footpath, we shortly come to the brink of the hill, in a 
bold bluff overlooking the village on the plain below and its sur- 
rounding hills. Over the village and beyond we see Prospect Hill 
in Waltham, at the right ; nearly in front of us, the distant out- 
lines of the Blue Hills ; at the left, the hills of Winchester, 
Woburn, and Stoneham, the Stoneham standpipe, a conspicuous 
object but not beautiful, in the landscape. 

We strike down the steep bluff on the left side to the rural lane 
which we observe making its way village-ward ; and following 
this lane, passing near the ancient burying-gi'ound on the left [see 
Walk a], we come out upon Massachusetts Avenue, by the Catho- 
lic Church. Here turning to the left, we come to the Green and 
reach our starting-point, completing this circuit walk. It is a 
comfortable two hours' walk, and covers a little rising four miles. 




In the Birches. 



Concord, by way of Bedford. 

Boston to Bedford, by steam car [B. & M., S. Div.], 14 miles ; fare, 30 cents. 
From West Bedford by the highway to Merriam's Corner, about 1| miles. 
From Merriam's Corner, by the Lexington Road, to Concord village, 1 mile. 

From Boston to Concord direct by steam car, two routes : by the Fitchburg 
line, 20 miles ; by the B. & M., S. Div., 19 miles ; fare by Fitch., 40 cents ; 
by B. & M., 38 cents. 

Walk a [No. 25]. In Bedford. Features along the way : the village ; his- 
toric houses on the "Great Road;" Fitch's Tavern, the rendezvous of the 
minute-men of 1775 ; the ancient Winthrop Farm ; seventeenth-century home- 
steads ; the "Brother Rocks" on the Concord River side; river meadows; 
wood paths ; tlie Shawshine valley ; the old burying-grouud. 

Walk h [No. 26]. From West Bedford to Merriam's Corner, thence through 
Concord. Features : the Old Bedford Road ; the Great Fields : the mile-long 
Ridge; birthplace of the Concord grape; "The Wayside;" Hawthorne's 
Walk; the "Orchard House;" "The Chapel;" the Emerson house; Tho- 
reau's woods ; historic spots in and about the village square ; the way to the 
Battle Ground ; the Old Manse ; the Monument and the Minute-man ; round 
about Concord River ; in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery ; old houses of Main Street. 
Return by the Fitchburg railroad. 

Walk c [No. 27]. In Concord woods. 

Concord was the first inland town founded in the Massachusetts Bay Col- 
ony. It was settled in the autumn of 1035, by a few families led by Major 
Simon Willard, Indian trader, and Peter Bulkeley, the minister, who made 
their way from Newe Towne (Cambridge) along Indian trails. Before start- 
ing out the leaders had obtained from the General Court, sitting at Newe 
Towne, an order (passed September 2), " that there slialbe a plantacou att 
Musketequid & that there shalbe six myles of land square to belong to it . . . 
& that the name of the place is changed and hereafter to be called Concord." 
The Musketequid was one of the Indian villages of the Massachusetts tribe, 
and embraced beside the present Concord, two fifths of the present Bedford, 
and other lands. About a year after the occupation the settlers secured from 
the Squaw Sachem, widow of Nanepashemet, chief of the tribe, a quit claim 
of the entire tract, giving for it wampum, hatchets, hoes, knives, cotton cloth, 
and shirts, " with a new suit of cotton cloath, a linnin band, a hat, shoes, 
stockins and a great coat," for Wappacowet, who had married the King's 
widow ; and thereupon they were " made welcome." Why the name of Con- 
cord was selected for the new plantation is not known. Shattuck, its earliest 
historian, conjectures that it was in recognition of the " Christian union and 
concord subsisting among the first company at the commencement of the set- 
tlement." The theory entertained by numerous writers, that it was chosen 
because of the amicable relations between the settlers and the Indians, is 
overthrown by the fact that the naming occurred before the settlement, more 
than a year before the quit claim was obtained. About ten years after the 
settlement, the territory of the township was enlarged by additional grants to 
the westward and northwestward. In 1729, a part was cut off in the making 
of the town of Bedford, and in subsequent years other portions were taken 
for Acton, Lincoln, and Carlisle. Concord was made a shire town as early as 
1092, and by the close of its first century it had become the important central 
town of the province. In the pre-Revolutionary events it had conspicuous 
part as a town standing " manfully for the rights of the provincials." The 
first of the series of county conventions to protest against the acts of Parlia- 
ment and King was held here, in August, 1774. Here the Provincial Congress 
sat from March to April 15, 1775. The town was the principal place of de- 
posit of the arms and military stores obtained by the Congi-ess, and during 
the winter of 1774-75, the making of gun-carriages, firearms, musket balls, 



CONCORD, BY WAY OF BEDFORD. 171 

cartridges, and military accoutrements was its chief indastrj\ Two compa- 
nies of minute-men were enlisted, and guards were regularly stationed to 
protect the military stores. In the Nineteenth of April fight, nearly two 
hundred townsmen were engaged, the roll including almost evei'y Concord 
family-name of that time. During the siege of Boston many of the patriot 
refugees made tliis town their temporary home, and in July, 1775, they held 
a Boston town meeting here. During the occupation of Cambridge by the 
American army when the college buildings were used as barracks, the college 
was established here, and it remained in Concord for about a year. Concord 
ceased to be a shire town in 1SG7, but long before that time it had exchanged 
the bustle of a central meeting-place of county courts, conventions, and trad- 
ers, for the quiet of a country village and a retreat of philosophers and lit- 
erary folk who liave given it a fame as wide as that of the "shot heard round 
the world," which "the embattled farmers" fired. Emerson came to live 
here in 1834, and in subsequent years, Hawthorne, Margaret Fuller, Channing, 
the Alcotts, and others, while Thoreau was Concord born. The town covers 
a plain with skirting hills, and lies about the Sudbury and Assabet rivers 
which here unite, and the Concord River formed by this union. The principal 
elevations are the "mile-long" ridge back of the central village, Nashawtuk 
Hill (235 feet) at the junction of the Sudbury and Assabet, and Puukatasset 
Hill (300 feet) in the north part, overlooking tlie Concord. 

Bedford, fashioned from parts of Concord and Billerica, was incorporated 
in 1729. It was named, presumably, for Bedfordshire, in England, " as an act 
of reverence for the memory of the fir.st minister of Concord [Bulkeley], who 
came from" that place. [Brown, historian of Bedford.] It occupies high 
ground and broad meadows, the village on an elevation constituting a water- 
shed. The Concord River marks its western bound, the picturesque Shaw- 
shine flows through its full length on the eastern side, and numerous sweet 
brooks course over its pleasant fields and pastures. It comprises the " Win- 
throp Grant" made to Governor Jolui Winthrop, by the General Court in 
1G3S, a part of the "Dudley Grant " made at tlie same time to the deputy- 
governor, and a portion of the " Shawshine Grant" made to Cambridge in 
IG-ll. Among its historic landmarks are " The Two Brothers," — two boulders 
on the brink of the Concord River, marking the bound between the Winthrop 
and Dudley Grants, as defined in Winthrop's Journal. Other landmarks are 
ancient houses, and memorials of the Revolution, in which Bedford had 
honorable part, one seventh of the population of the little town having par- 
ticipated in its opening scene, and Bedford men having been in neai'ly every 
campaign to the close. 

Our Concord walk should properly follow the Lexing-ton walks 
by the direct highway from Lexington, but we make a detour 
through Bedford to enjoy the charm of a towai within easy reach 
of the city which yet retains a countr}^ flavor ; also to visit land- 
marks out of the beaten path, and to ai^proach Concord by a 
picturesque back way. From Lexington to Concord direct, — by 
way of Monument Street and the Lexington Road, — the distance 
is six miles ; by the roundabout way of Bedford and the Old Bed- 
ford Road, about nine miles ; but part of the latter is to be covered 
by rail. The direct highway is a pleasant road, and being the 
route which the British troops took, out and back, on the historic 
Nineteenth, has several points of interest connected with the events 
of that day. We do not propose to slight it, but we shall treat it 
as a by-walk ; or note it for covering in a Lexington and Concord 
drive, or a bicycle run. It passes over Concord Hill, and extends 



172 CONCORD, BY WAY OF BEDFORD. 

for about two miles across the northern tip of Lincohi, entering 
Concord not far below the approach to Merriam's Corner, where it 
is joined by the Old Bedford Road which we shall take from Bed- 
ford. Of its historical points, two are marked by stone tablets : 
one a mile out from Lexing-ton, the other half a mile beyond. The 
first of these points is the Hay ward house and the well in the front 
yard near the roadside, at which the " duel " between James Hay- 
ward of Acton and a British soldier took place : — 

At this well 

April 19, 1775, 

James Hayward of Acton 

met a British soldier 

who, raising his gun, said 

" You are a dead man." 

•' And so are you," replied Hayward. 

Both fired. The soldier 

was instantly killed 

and Hayward mortally wounded. 

The second is the Bluff, at the junction of the old and new Con- 
cord roads, where the British on the retreat made their first stand 
in Lexington, the tablet here inscribed : — 

This Blutf 

was used as a rallying point 

by the British 

April 19, 1775. 

After a sharp fight 

they retreated to Fiske Hill 

from which they were driven 

in great confusion. 

Fiske Hill lies nearer the village, on the old part of the road to 
the north of the present highway. Here the minute-men were in 
force behind a breastwork of fence rails, pouring a hot fire into the 
Bi'itish ranks. It was from this point that the retreat became a 
rout, unchecked until Lord Percy's relieving column was reached 
near Munroe Tavern. And it was in the neighborhood of this hill 
that Major Pitcairn was thrown from his horse, when his steed 
was captured by young Captain Barrett of Concord [see Walk 6], 
with the major's pistols in the saddle-holsters, — the same which 
are now treasured among the relics in the Lexington Memorial 
Hall. Along the Lincoln part of the road there was much hard 
fighting, some accounts say the hardest on the retreat, and espe- 
cially in the bends about the foot of Hardy's Hill, near the divid- 
ing line between Lincoln and Concord. 

The route which we mark out for Bedford is a long one, and 
part of it might be covered by carriage or wheel. Carriage hire 
in Bedford is not high. Walks a and b can be " done " comfort- 
ably in one day, that is, if, as suggested, we combine a walk and 



CONCORD, BY WAY OF BEDFORD. 



173 



ride. We should make an early start, and lunch, between walks, 
in Bedford. The inn here is a good one, with an excellent table. 
It would be better, however, to give two full days to these walks, 
for both have numerous interesting features, with inviting by- 
walks, and should be taken leisurely. Walk c is an easy half- 
day one. 

Walk a. Bedford is a nine minutes' railroad ride beyond Lex- 
ington. The village hes back from the station about half a mile 
northward, approached by a country road with pleasant side 
views. The village centre we find a serene ijlace, with the Parish 
Church, of old New England pattern, back from the Green or 
Common ; the plainly fashioned Town-house near by ; the tree- 
lined main street, — the " Great Road " now called, as it vised to 
be in earlier days when it was the main road to Boston (the town, 
in March meeting, 1896, having wisely and with good taste which 
other towns round about Boston might well emulate, discarded 
the modern term " street," and restored the old names) ; — the inn 
with swing-sign from an ancient elm ; the houses of old-time type. 

On one side of the Great Road, in dignified line, separated by 
roomy grounds, yet stand the mansion-house of the muiister, the 
homestead of the merchant, the house of the squu*e, worthies of 
the town before and after it had become an important way station 
on the great stage-coach lines between New Hampshire and Bos- 
ton, where relays of horses were kept. The merchant's house, 
second in the line and closest to the roadway, is the oldest of the 
three and the most historic, for this was m 1775 the rallying place 
of the Bedford minute-men on the morning of the Concord Fight, 







The Old Fitch's Tavern. 



174 CONCORD, BY WAY OF BEDFORD. 

and from which they started off for the scene of action. It was 
at that time the village tavern, kept by Jeremiah Fitch, Jr. In 
the right front room, which was then the tavern public room and 
bar, these farmer-soldiers were given a hurriedly prepared meal, 
well moistened, we may be sure, with New England rum ; and, as 
they left, their captain, Jonathan Wilson, remarked : " It 's a 
cold breakfast, boys, but we '11 give the British a hot dinner ; 
we '11 have every dog of them before night ! " 

The miiiute-men marched over the Old Bedford Road to Concord, joming 
the Bedford militia company, which had started from its captain's house on 
that road. At Concord they helped in the removal of stores to places of 
greater safety before the appearance of the king's troops ; and joining in the 
pursuit of the British on the retreat, had part in the skirmish by Hardy's Hill, 
where their captain fell. His grave is in the old Bedford burying-ground. 

Later on that morning the companies of minute-men from Read- 
ing, Wilmington, and other places, passing through the town, tar- 
ried at "Fitch's" for refreshment; while wagons with supjilies 
prepared by the women of the village were hastened forward 
from its door. 

This house was probably standing when the town was incor- 
porated in 1729, although its exact date is not known, and became 
a tavern upon its purchase by Jei*emiah Fitch, Jr., in 1766. It has 
remained in the Fitch family from that time, transformed from 
tavern to dwelling many years ago ; and now with the spreading 
acres of the homestead, bears the picturesque name of " Stone 
Croft Farm." Although enlarged by an extension at the side, and 
provided with modern conveniences and comforts, its ancient ap- 
pearance is well preserved. The oaken beams are exposed in the 
ceilings of the broad, low-studded rooms, the generous fireplaces 
remain as of old ; and in the room where the minute-men re- 
sponded to the alarm brought first by Nathan Munroe and Ben- 
jamin Tidd of Captain Parker's Lexington company, is yet the 
corner closet from which a part of their refreshment was served. 
The tavern was practically given up before the death of Jeremiah 
Fitch, Jr., in 1808. The merchant whose homestead this was in 
later years, was Jei'emiah Fitch, son of Jeremiah, Jr., who bought 
out the several heirs, comijleting the imrchase about 1822. He be- 
came a leading merchant in Boston, making this his summer home 
until his death in 1840. He was a generous and kindly townsman, 
giving liberally to the town, and helping the unfortunate in quiet 
ways largely through the minister, his close friend as well as 
neighbor. 

In Boston, Mr. Fitch was prominent in the old Brattle Square Church, and 
it was through his instrumentality that the cannon-ball which, fired from an 
American battery during the siege of Boston, struck the meeting-house, was 



CONCORD, BY WAY OF BEDFORD. 175 

rescued from its ignoble service as a weight on the front gate of a neighbor- 
ing dwelling, and fixed in the front of the building, — its " cannon-ball breast- 
pin " as Holmes called it, — where it remained a " memento of the glorious 
contest," until the demolition of the old meeting-house. It is now in the 
rooms of the Massachusetts Historical Society. 

Miss Caroline M. Fitch succeeded to the ownership of the home- 
stead, and it is now the home of Charles W. Jeuks, a descendant 
of the merchant. 

The minister's house, first in this line, was the dwelling of the 
Rev. Samuel Stearns, the fourth minister of the town, who served 
for thirty-seven years, — from 1796 until his death in 1834. Its 
building- was begun by Parson Stearns's predecessor, the Rev. 
Joseph Penniman, and accordingly is upward of a century old. It 
must have been in its day the stateliest house on the road ; and 
now, time-Avorn, with its elm-shaded yard, and row of poplars on 
the road line, it makes an engaging picture. Within, the large 
rooms opening from either side of the broad central hall are fin- 
ished in the style of the substantial mansion-house of its period. 
It is still in the Stearns family. The parson had a family of thir- 
teen children, five of them sons, four of whom became ministers. 
The older minister's house, that of the Rev. Nicholas Bowes, 
the first minister of the town, who married Lucy, daughter of 
Parson John Hancock of Lexington, is still standing, — a fine old 
house with large elms in front, an eighth of a mile down the Great 
Road, next to the old burying-ground which we shall visit later 
on. It dates from about 1730, and long went by the name of the 
"domine manse." 

The "squire," v.ho occupied the third house in the line, was 
Elijah Stearns, a cousin of Parson Stearns. This house was built 
early in the present century, and a part of it Avas used for some 
years as a store, subsequently as the post office, and at other times 
as the local court room. The squire's books are now in the pos- 
session of the Bedford Historical Society, to which they were pre- 
sented. The old store books illustrate the custom of the times, 
entries and sales of New England rum being prominent items. The 
post office business was not heavy : one or two letters a day, and 
sometimes none, an exceedingly busy day being seven. The squire's 
mansion house has passed through several hands since his death. 
It is now owned by George R. Blinn, of the law firm of Adams & 
Blinn, Boston. 

From the Great Road we turn at the triangle with its handsome 
oak, as old as the town, in a field of green, called Wilson Park, in 
memory of the captain of the minute-men, and taking the North 
Road, at the right, leave the village for country parts. The tri- 
angle is near the bounds of the great Wmthrop Farm ; the North 



176 CONCORD, BY WAY OF BEDFORD. 

Road is one of the roads to Billerica. About a mile and a half 
beyond, the Dudley Road, branching off to the left, leads toward 
the " Brother Rocks " on the Concord River side, the bound 
between the Winthrop and Dudley farms for which we are now 
aiming. Instead, however, of turning directly into Dudley Road 
we should continue on the North Road for about an eighth of a 
mile farther, to the " old Job Lane house," — or an ancient house 
thought to be that built by Colonel John Lane, son of Job Lane, 
the purchaser of the Winthrop Farm in 1664, and the first to occupy 
it. Whether this is the identical house, its antiquity certainly 
cannot be questioned. It stands with its weathered side to the 
roadway, a few yards back from the huge trunk of a dead elm, 
picturesque with trailing vines. It is of the grim seventeenth- 
century style of farm-house with the great central chimney and 
leanto. Inside its heavy frame is disclosed in the protruding thick 
hewn cross-beams. In the long kitchen is the gi'eat deep fire- 
place with hanging crane. There are snug corner closets and 
cupboards in the low rooms, and a secret chimney closet ; and in 
the attic is a window from which tradition says that Mary, the 
young daughter of Colonel John Lane, shot and killed an Indian 
lurking in a thicket near by the house. 

It was at that time a garrison house and the girl was alone with a single 
soldier on guard, her father being away. " Something behind a stump " 
excited her suspicion as she looked from this window. " The soldier de- 
clined to fire. Taking the gun she discharged it, and a dead Indian roUed 
into sight." [Brown's History of Bedford.] She lived to tell the tale long 
years after, for she reached the great age of ninety-six. Job Lane was an 
" artificer,"' of Maiden, and bought the Winthrop Farm from Fitz John Win- 
throp, of Connecticut, into whose possession it had come. The house is now 
the home of Hiram Button, who has owned and occupied it for half a century. 

Back to Dudley Road we follow this road through a pleasant 
region for a mile and a half to the Pickman place within the 
limits of the Dudley Farm and upon which the " Brother Rocks " 
stand. Along the way we pass the large white ash, with girth at 
five feet from the ground of thu-teen feet four inches, which Dame 
mentions in his " Typical Elms and other Trees of Massachusetts." 
This tree stands in front of the first house passed after the turn 
from the North Road. The Pickman place is reached through an 
avenue of noble chestnuts, opening at the left of the road. The 
river meadows lie back of and beyond the house. Taking the 
grassy farm-lane at the left of the fine barn, we soon strike a path 
at the left which meanders across the meadow, now over spongy 
turf, now alongside of a bubbling brook, in a southeasterly direc- 
tion toward the ancient landmarks. 

The two boulders lie near together close to the river's brink in 
a sylvan spot. On the tablets set in the face of each we read, on 



CONCORD, BY WAY OF BEDFORD. 



177 



that to the south " Winthrop, 1638,'' that to the north, "Dudley, 
1638." The river approaches this point in picturesque bends. 
Facing the rocks, at the left we look over field and i^asture to 
the CarHsle bridge crossing the stream about three quarters of a 








The Brotlier Rocks. 

mile above. The little brook or creek by which the farms were 
divided probably entered the river near the rocks. Perhaps the 
brook now running through the meadow marks its old course, but 
apparently this was cut out after the saw-mill was built where the 
stream crosses Dudley Road, — a more direct channel straight to 
the river. The governor's thousand acres spread off southerly 
from the " Two Brothers ; " the deputy governor's, northerly. We 
can easily imagine the scene which met the gaze of Winthrop and 
Dudley, as they paddled down the river from the little settlement 
at Concord to mark these lands which the General Court had 
granted them in May, 1638. Making selection of this point for 
their landing, "they offered each other the first choice, but," as 
Winthrop narrates in his Journal, " because the deputy's was fii'st 
granted, and himself had store of land already, the Governor yielded 
him the first choice. So, at the place where the deputy's land was 
to begin there were two g:reat stones which they called the Two 
Brothers in remembrance that they were brothers by their chil- 
dren's marriage and did so brotherly agree, and for that a little 
creek near those stones was to part their lands." Shortly after, 
the court granted Winthrop two hundred acres more, and later 



178 CONCORD, BY WAY OF BEDFORD. 

sixty acres of meadow "within a mile or two of his farme," 
nearer Woburn. 

The Winthrop Farm remained intact and unoccupied until the purchase by 
Job Lane, in 1GG4. The Dudley Grant lay entirely in Billerica until 1766, 
when the "Edward Stearns Farm," occupying a portion of it, and embracing 
the present Pickman place, was set off from Billerica and joined to Bedford. 
The owner of the Pickman place, Dudley Leavitt Pickman, is a descendant of 
Dudley. 

The flora of the region along and about the river is interesting. 
In the low land and meadows extending back some distance from 
the river bank are found plenty of coarse grasses and sedges, 
pitcher plants, and the orchids common to such land, as calopogon, 
arethusa, and pogonia ; in the river itself, the poud-lilj% the large 
and small yellow lily, pickerel weed, arrowhead, water crowfoot, 
and water marigold. A most interesting cryptogam is the Mar- 
silia quadrifoha, introduced fi'om its only known habitat. Ban- 
tam Lake, Connecticut, into the river at Concord, many years ago 
by Minot Pratt, from plants obtained at the Cambridge Botanic 
Garden, and now spreading down-stream as far as Billerica ; very 
abundant among tlie lily-pads. The beautiful SAvamp rose-mallow 
grows on the banks in small patches. The pastures near the 
" Brother Rocks " are brilliant with rhodora in spring. A large 
patch of spiked loosestrife (lythrum solicaria) for many years at- 
tracted attention, but the use of the land for crops has now nearly 
exterminated it. 

Leaving the Pickman place, if we are di-iving or riding, we pro- 
ceed northward, entering Billerica, and keep on a continuation of 
the Dudley Road in a great loop eastward, until we again reach 
the North Road ; then we follow the latter to the old Middlesex 
Turnpike, Avhicli we next keep, across Nutting's Pond, imtil we 
come to the Old Road to Billerica, where we turn toward Bed- 
ford, and soon reach the Bacon homestead, the oldest in town. 
By this way the distance from the Pickman place to the Bacon 
place is about five and a half mDes. There is no shorter cross- 
road, but to one knowing the country it is a pleasant walk of 
about three miles from the Job Lane house (back on the North 
Road) to the Bacon place, by way of " Bedford Springs," and a 
cart-path through the woods and across the "Great Meadow" 
(a part of which was included in the second gi'ant to Winthrop). 
If we prefer the walk we can readily find a guide in a friendly 
townsman. 

The Bacon house is supposed to have been built in the latter 
part of the seventeenth century by Michael Bacon, one of the 
earhest settlers, formerly of Woburn, who set up the first mill on 
the Shawshine River before 1675. The original farm of five hun- 



CONCORD, BY WAY OF BEDFORD. 



179 



dred acres, part of the "Shawsliine Grant" made to Cambridge 
iu 1641, was bought by him from the Cambridge minister, Joseph 
Mitchell, to whom it had been given, in 1682 ; and it is presumed 
that the ancient house dates from about that year. Six genera- 
tions of Bacons have occupied it. Jonathan Bacon, Michael's son, 
" perfected "' the toA\aiship of Bedford, for which he received a fee 
of £11 8s 3d. He Avas counted a "principal inhabitant," and on 
him devolved the duty of assembling the " freeholders and other 
inhabitants " in the first town meeting to choose town officers. 




^risSs® 



The Aucieut Bacon House. 

From the Bacon place the road runs pleasantly in part over 
highland with the picturesque valley of the Shawshine on the 
left, the river, a narrow thread, coursing through. About a mile 
and a quarter beyond the Bacon house we reach the Page place, 
another old homestead, which has been in possession of descend- 
ants of the original settler for two centuries. A modern house 
behind an aged elm occupies the site of the original house, but 
the latter yet stands on a lot near by, in good view from the road. 
It was from the attic of this house, where it had lain for a cen- 
tury, that the ancient flag borne by Cornet Xathaniel Page at 
the head of the Bedford minute-men to Concord, and now pre- 
served in the Bedford Library, was taken. 

A mile farther and we are back in the village at the Towai Hall. 
Here we may see in the Library room, carefidly mounted and 
under glass, the banner just referred to, which has been jjro- 
nounced by competent authority "the most precious memorial of 
its kind we have any knowledge of, far exceeding in historic value 
the famed flag of Eutaw and Pidaski's banner." It is said to 
have been designed in England, somewhere between 1660 and 



180 



CONCORD, BY WAY OF BEDFORD. 



1670, for the "three-county troops" of Massachusetts Bay Col- 
ony, and carried by the Middlesex regiment. After the Con- 
cord Fight, Cornet Page restored it to its dusty resting-place in 
the old homestead garret, and it was not brought out again until 
another century had passed, when it appeared at the head of the 
Bedford delegation at the centennial celebration in Concord in 




The Historic Banner borne by the Bedford Minute-men. 

1875. Ten years later it was presented to the town by the late 
Cyrus Page. Other interesting things are to be seen in the collec- 
tion of antiquities in connection with the Free Library. 

A visit to the old burying-ground on the Springs Road finishes 
our walk. Here are the graves of the fathers of the town and of 
numerous members of the older families, in a well-kept enclosure 
shaded by many trees. The Revolutionary marker appears above 
an exceptionally large number of them. The grave of Captain 
Wilson of the minute-men is about in the centre of the yard. In 
another part is the grave of Mary Lane, who shot the Lidian 
from the old Colonel John Lane house. When she died in 1783, at 
ninety-six, she was " Mrs. Mary, relict of Mr. John Whitmore, of 
Medford." In a corner is the "African Reservation," a mound 
in which a tablet has been set by generous hands inscribed with 
the names of faithful former bondsmen who served through the 
Revolution with the .Continental army. 



CONCORD, BY WAY OF BEDFORD. 181 

Walk b. At the West Bedford station we take the road to 
which the platform leads, turning to the left and crossing the 
tracks. This is the Concord Road, from Bedford centre, at the 
right, and becomes the Old Bedford Road at the bounds between 
Bedford and Concord. It is a quiet country road from the station 
onward, tending generally in a southerly direction, with pictur- 
esque curves, through a pastoral region of much beauty of land- 
scape. A succession of old farms with ancient homesteads, here 
when the companies of minute-men from various towns hurried 
by for the Concord Fight, characterize the way. The first of 
these old places is reached on the outskirts of the little cluster 
of houses which mark the village of the station, — the big black 
house with huge chimney, standing sideways on a bluff in a bend 
of the road. From this point we enter open countrj', — on the 
right expanding fields, beyond which we see the upper Concord 
hills ; on the left, orchards backed by adjacent highland. The 
road bends to the right, then to the left, crosses the Bedford- 
Concord dividing line, marked by two stone bounds on the left 
side, then mounts a gentle grade, disclosing broader prosj^ects as it 
proceeds. Another old farm-house, with lean-to, is passed on the 
left, pleasantly placed, with a splendid view of distant Lexington 
hills from its side, and an avenue of fine old trees along the road 
line. There is another just beyond, on the right side, perhaps not 
quite so old, and smaller, but of similar fashion. And still an- 
other further along, again on the right, presenting its side to the 
roadway, with long, slanting roof, and from its yard and fields 
the same view of distant hills. 

A short distance beyond we come to a fork in the I'oad, Bedford 
Street, at the right, going direct to Concord centre, the old road 
bending to the left, and going on to Merriam's Corner, there join- 
ing the Lexington Road. From this fork, according to the guide- 
post, it is one mile and a quarter to Concord centre by Bedford 
Street, five miles to Lexington by way of the old road, and three 
miles back to Bedford ; and Merriam's Corner is a little less 
than a mile off. Keeping to the old road, our pleasant walk con- 
tinues. The next fork is at the junction with the ancient "" Vir- 
ginia Road," where the heavy granite guide-post, looking like a 
formal monument as we approach it, informs us in big lettering 
that we are a mile farther from Bedford, and eight miles from 
Billerica. Now our road bears to the right, and by a long sweep 
shortly reaches the historic coi'uer. As we approach we have 
a full view over " the Great Fields," on the right, and of the 
back side of the mile-long ridge around which, by a bridge path 
through the woods on this side, the Concord and other minute-men 



182 



CONCORD, BY WAY OF BEDFORD. 



hurried to harass the British on the retreat by the main road on 
the front side. The old house back from the corner and close to 
the Bedford roadside, is the Merriam house, which witnessed the 
fight. As we turn into the Lexington Road we obsei've, set in the 




MeiTiam's Corner. 



stone wall, the tablet marking Merriam's Corner, 
thus inscribed : — 

Merriam's Corner. 



a boulder, 



The British troops 

retreating from tlie 

Old North Bridge 

were here attacked in flank 

by the men of Concord 

and neighboring towns 

and driven under a hot fire 

to Charlestown. 

The men of the " neighboring towns " were Chelmsford and Billerica min- 
ute-men, and those from Reading and Medfoi'd, under the command of the 
gallant young physician, Major John Brooks, of Medford, afterward General, 
and in later years Governor Brooks [see Walk No. 1-4, p. 94], who were al- 
ready here when the men from the village arrived. This was the first exposed 
point, as the regulars left the protection of the ridge, over which they had 
thrown out flank guards, and the action was one of the sharpest of the several 
along the road. Many of the minute-men engaged in this skirmish followed 
all the way to Charlestown ferry, the Medford men firing the last shot during 
the British embarkation. 

Our steps are now towai'd the central village, about a mile and 
three quarters beyond, past the old homes of Hawthorne, the 
Alcotts, and Emei'son. On the right we have the "mile-long 
ridge," with its thick covering of green rising abruptly behind the 



CONCORD, BY WAY OF BEDFORD. 



183 



clustered houses at its base, on the left the broad sweep of open 
level meadow stretching off a half a mile or more toward low- 
wooded hills. After a fifteen minutes' walk, keeping the path on 
the meadow-side of the road, from which we have the fairer view 
of ridge and meadow, we come to the first place of especial interest, 
— the old Bull place, with the neglected vineyard where the 
famous Concord Grape was born. This lies against the ridge, in 
the weedy garden about the deserted gabled cottage standing a 
few rods back from the road, behind a lattice fence. Here the 
late Ephraim Bull, more than forty years ago (1855), first produced 
this now so common fruit by a process of hybridizing (crossing 
the native wild grape with the Isabella, it is said), and the parent 
vine is yet productive. Mr. Bull Hved to a venerable age, a half 
century of his life engaged in this vineyard. Before his death he 
moved to the village, and the place passed to other hands. 

Next beyond is " The "Wayside," changed since Hawthorne's 
day, yet with much of the outward look and charm it had when 







" The "Wayside." 

the shy, reticent romancer, whose walks to and from the village 
were often made without a word to friend or stranger passing by, 
was its occupant, and wrought his exquisite work in the tower 
study. This was his home from 1852, after his first return from 
Europe, to the time of his death, which occuri'ed so suddenly away 
from it, on that short, last journey for health, with his old friend 
Franklin Pierce, in 186i. Before he came here the place had 
been the home of Bronson Alcott, from whom he purchased it. At 
that time it included a small farm and woodland of about twenty 



184 CONCORD, BY WAY OF BEDFORD. 

acres, with an ancient dwelling built some time before the Revolu- 
tion, which Alcott had rouglily reconstructed. Alcott had bought 
it in 1845, and called it "Hillside." Hawthorne's more poetic 
name was suggested by its tranquil situation hard by the traveled 
way. The late George B. Bartlett, choicest of Concord guides, 
fancied that HaAvthorne also " connected with it a fanciful sj^m- 
bolism. ... It pleased him to conceive of himself, even after he 
became famovxs, as sitting by the wayside and observing the show 
of human life while it flowed by him." Hawthorne refashioned 
the old house, and by degrees embellished the grounds after his 
own taste, the low hedge along the sidewalk, the thicket of trees 
— firs, pines, elms, oaks, Scotch larches, birches — being largely 
set out by him. The rose-vines and woodbine covering one end of 
the house were also his embellishment ; but the hawthorn-tree by 
the porch was placed at a later jieriod. The larger part of the 
work of beautifying the modest estate was done after Hawthorne's 
return from Italy, early in 1860. At that time the house was en- 
larged to its present proportions, and the "tower study" — the 
square, full-windowed structure rising above the roof of the main 
part — was built. This is reached from the second story by a 
narrow, covered stairway, at the top of which, in either corner, is 
a case for books, over one the motto, " Abandon care, all ye who 
enter here ; " over the other, Tennyson's line," There is no joy but 
calm ; " while on the window-casing, between the shelves, is painted 
the word, "Olympus," in Greek letters. The study was finished 
in red-stained pine, and plainly furnished with a table, having at 
one end a sloping desk, a hinged shelf against the wall for use as 
a standing desk, a couple of chairs, one an " American rocker," an 
open fireplace, a few prints on the walls, fewer ornaments on the 
mantel. Hawthorne's library was the little low front room at the 
left of the entrance porch. 

Along the edge of the crest of the ridge which rises behind the 
house in a steep slope to a height of about seventy feet, and over 
which the thick growth extends back for about half a mile, is 
" Hawthorne's "Walk," his " out-door study," as Bartlett calls it, 
where he used "to pace up and down among the sweet-fern and 
blackberries, meditating upon whatever he proposed to write." 
" From the lawn below the hill," says Bartlett, "I have looked 
up and seen Mr. Hawthorne's dark, quiet figure passing slowly 
across the dim light of mingled sky and branches, his tread meas- 
ured and his head bent ; and he seemed to be at one with his 
surroundings of eloquent and sombre pines, and the ixnclojung 
scent of the sweet-fern." The path worn by his footsteps is yet 
visible. Other pleasant winding paths are in these ridge-woods. 



CONCORD, BY WAY OF BEDFORD. 185 

Shortly after Hawthorne's death this place was sold, but the new purchaser 
made no change m it. For a few years it was used for a girls' boarding 
school. In 1879 it was bought by Mr. George P. Lathrop, who married Haw- 
thorne's daughter Rose, and they lived in it for a short time. In 1881 it 
became the property of the late Daniel Lothrop, the publisher, of Boston, and 
since his death, in 1892, it has been occupied during the summer seasons by 
Mrs. Lothrop, the "Margaret Sidney" whose books for children are widely 
known. 

The next place includes " Orchard House," the second Concord 
home of the Alcott family, and the " HiUside Chapel " of the 
"Concord School of Philosophy and Literature," that unique and 
renowned institution wliieh drew its siunmer patrons and pupils 
from far and near parts of the country, and during its career of 
nearly ten years (1879-1888) added a fresh attraction to the town. 
"Orchard House," like "The Wayside," is an ancient house re- 
newed, — more than two centuries old. It was bought by Alcott's 
wife and some of his friends in 1857, and was the homestead for 
nearly twenty years. Here Alcott gave many of his " Conversa- 
tions " to audiences gathered in the library on the first floor ; 
Louise Alcott wrote her winsome " Little Women," and the pop- 
ular stories which followed ; and May, the j^oungest daughter, 
developed into the successful artist, using the room adjoining the 
librarj'^ for her studio. The interior of the house has been described 
as " full of queer nooks and corners with all manner of juttings in 
and out." The walls were jjainted and papered by the daughters. 
" Gradually the artist daughter filled up all the nooks and corners 
with panels on which she had painted birds and flowers, and over 
the open fireplace she painted mottoes in ancient English charac- 
ters." The first sessions of the School of Philosophy, of which Mr. 
Alcott was the principal founder and the dean, were held here, the 
house being reopened for this purpose two years after the removal 
of the remaining members of the family to the home of the eldest 
daughter, Mrs. Pratt, in the so-called " Thoreau house," on Main 
Street, which we shall pass at the finish of our walk. The Chapel 
was built in 1880, from Mr, Alcott's plans. It is, as we see, a 
simple structure, bare of all ornamentation save the trailing grape- 
vine over the porch. Within, it is as severely plain. Well-woni 
paths on either side lead up the terraced hillside. 

The Alcott place is now the property of Dr. William T. Harris, United 
States Commissioner of Education, who bouglit it some time before the close 
of the Concord School, and the Orchard House is occupied as a summer resi- 
dence. The last public meeting in the Chapel was on the occasion of the 
memorial to Mr. Alcott in 1888. 

A short walk brings us to the Emerson place, in a grove of 
pines, on the left side of the way, facing the Concord Turnpike at 
its junction with our road. The plain, square house, of the con- 



186 



CONCORD, BY WAY OF BEDFORD. 



ventional old New England type, with central door, of two stories, 
and low roof, was Emerson's home from 1835 to his death in 1882. 
Over the marble flags from the gate to the doorstep, beneath the 
shade of tall chestnuts on either side, have passed many person- 
ages eminent in letters during this period of nearly half a century 
as guests of the gentle seer. The room on the right of the long 
hall, passing through the middle of the house, was Emerson's 
study, and on the mahogany centre-table still rests the morocco 
writing-pad which he used, with his pen lying at its side. The 




Home of Ralph Waldo Emerson. 

parlor is in the southern quarter, reached from the study by doors 
on either side of the open fireplace. Back of the house is the old- 
fashioned garden with its hollyhocks, roses, and shrubs. Emerson 
bought this place upon his second marriage, to Miss Lydia Jack- 
son, of Plymouth, moving to it from the Old Manse where he was 
boarding, and at that time the house was but a few years old (built 
in 1828), so that it is almost entirely identified with him. The 
estate then embraced two acres of land, bordering along the stage 
road to Boston. In July, 1872, the house was partially destroyed 
by fire, but it was at once rebuilt by friends, on the former lines. 
The family then went temporarily to the Manse, while a study was 
fitted for Mr. Emerson in the Court House. He soon, however, 
went abroad with his daughter Ellen, where he remained during 
the reconstruction of the house, and upon his return he was wel- 
comed with a memorable demonstration by the townspeople. 

The bella were rung, and a large company of neighbors and friends escorted 



CONCORD, BY WAY OF BEDFORD. 



187 



him from the railway station under a triumphal arch to his door, the village 
band at their head playing the homely old air of " Home, Sweet Home." He 
was greatly moved, but with chai'acteristic modesty insisted that this was a 
welcome to his daughter and could not be meant for him. Although he had 
felt quite unable to make any speech, yet seeing his friendly townspeople, 
old and young, in groups watching him enter his own door once more, he 
turned suddenly back, and going to the gate said : " My friends ! I know that 
this is not a tribute to an old man and his daughter returned to their house, 
but to the common blood of us all — one family — in Concord ! " [Edward 
W. Emerson, in " Emerson at Concord."] 

This place is iioav occupied by Miss Ellen Emerson. 

The road at the left, Hey wood Street, leads in the direction of 
"Walden Pond, — the beloved of Thoreau and Emerson, but now 
a place of popular picnics, — about a mile and a half off. The 
way is by this shoi-t road to Walden Street, at the left, thence for 
about a mile, passing the junction of Thoreau Street Avith Walden 
Street, and then, having surmounted a hill, by a wood road, at the 
right, for three quarters of a mile. This path reaches the site of 
the hut which Thoreau built on the pond-side in 1845, and in 
















The Thoreau Cairn. 



188 



CONCORD, BY WAY OF BEDFORD. 



which he lived and wrote for nearly two years, 1845-47, " close to 
Nature," now marked by The Cairn made by many visitors each 
contributing a stone. From the main road, a few rods before the 
turn toward the pines back of Thoreau's grove, is seen the remnant 
of Thoreau's " orchard " planted from pine cones in straight lines. 
Walden Street leads to Lincoln past the pond ; Thoreau Street 
comes from tlie Fitchburg station and runs into Walden Street. 
This walk to Walden is a delightful by- walk. [See Walk c] 

Continuing along the Lexington Road we are soon at the centre. 
The old house on the right as the square is approached, dating 
back a century and a half, is known as the Beaton house, where 
lived John Beaton, who founded the charity fund for the "silent 
poor " of the town in 1776. Next above is the Heywood house, 
in which George Heywood, whose ancestors and himself held the 
town clerkship for one himdred and seven consecutive years, was 
born and lived until his death in 1897, at the age of seventy. The 
next, marked by a weather-worn tavern sign, is the house of the 
Concord Antiquarian Society, occupied at the time of the Revolu- 
tion by Captain Reuben Brown, who made various military equip- 
ments for the patriots before the Concord Fight in his saddlery 
shop, still standing (the dwelling next above), and who was the 
messenger sent down the Lexington Road on the morning of the 
Nineteenth to report the approach of the British troops. The in- 
terior of the house has been furnished by the Antiquarian Society 
in the olden style, a fit setting for the interesting collection of 




Antiquarian Society Room. 



CONCORD, BY WAY OF BEDFORD. 189 

antiques of the Colonial, Provincial, and Revolutionary periods 
here exhibited. A small fee admits the visitor. 

The Unitarian Church on the opposite side in the square, a few 
steps above, is the meeting-house in which the Provincial Congress 
first assembled, but so changed in its remodeling, both exterior 
and interior, as to have httle, if any, likeness to the original. 
The present Grecian porch, with heavy wooden columns, was sub- 
stituted for the square clock-tower and slender spire in the greater 
remodeling of 1841, when also the high pulpit and sounding-board 
were removed. At the time that the Congress occupied it the 
house was sixty-three years old. The inscriiition on the tablet 
against the porch reads : — 

The first Provincial Congress 
of delegates from the towns of 

Massachusetts 

was called by conventions of 

the people to meet at Concord on the 

eleventh day of October, 1774. 

The delegates assembled here 

in the meeting-house on that day, 

and organized 

with John Hancock as president 

and Benjamin Lincoln as secretary. 

Called together to maintain 

the rights of the people, 

this Congi'ess 

assumed the government of the Province, 

and by its measures prepared the way 

for the war of the Revolution. 

" Wright's Tavern," next the church, on the Main Street cor- 
ner, — Major Pitcairn's headquarters on the Nineteenth, where he 
made his boast, so says tradition, that he would "stir the rebels' 
blood before night," as he stirred his brandy, with his bloody finger, 
— stands, unlike the church, much as it appeared at that period, 
in outward appearance at least. It dates from 1747, and continued 
a favorite inn for some time after the Revolution. Then it was 
put to use as a bake-house, later became a dwelling, and again a 
shop ; but now it swings its inviting tavern sign as of old, offering 
"entertainment" to the traveler. "Jones's Tavern," where 
Colonel Smith made his headquarters, was on Main Street, a few 
steps off the square. It disai^peared many years ago. 

The steep hillside burying-ground opposite the Unitarian 
church, with clusters of gray stones reaching close to the sidewalk 
bank, is the oldest graveyard in the town. On the crest above 
was the first meeting-hoiise, and in Revolutionary days the Lib- 
erty Pole, which Colonel Smith's soldiers cut down, as the tablet 
on the front wall of the enclosure states : — 



190 CONCORD, BY WAY OF BEDFORD. 

On this hill 

the settlers of Concord 

built their meeting-house 

near which they were buried, 

on the southern slope of the ridge 

were their dwellings during 

the first winter, 

below it they laid out 

their first road, and 

on the summit stood the 

Liberty-pole of the Revolution. 

Here are historic graves, — tombs of the ministers, Daniel Bliss 
(settled 1738-74) and William Emerson (1774-70), grandfather of 
Ralph Waldo Emerson ; graves of Major Buttriek, who led the 
fight at the Old North Bridge ; and of Colonel Barrett, the com- 
mander of the Americans ; numerous curious stones and quaint 
epitaphs. The old foot-worn path leads to the simimit where the 
minute-men took their first position, then, drawing back to the hill 
at the northwest, watched the oncoming king's troops, "glittering 
in arms ; " and where, shortly after. Colonel Smith and Major Pit- 
cairn overlooked the mancBuvring of their troops. The grave of 
Colonel Barrett is at the foot of the hill, behind the stone house a 
few rods from the entrance-gate. The graves of Major (afterward 
Colonel) Buttriek, of his son who was fifer of the Concord minute- 
men, and of numerous other members of the Buttriek family, are 
on the crest by the little powder-hovise. In the near neighborhood 
are the tombs of the ministers. On the stone over Colonel But- 
trick's gi'ave is this inscription : — 

In memory of Colonel John Buttriek 
who commanded the militia companies which made the first attack upon the 
British troops at Concord North Bridge on tlie 19th of April 1775. 

Having with patriotic firmness shared in the dangers which led to American 
Independence, he lived to enjoy the blessings of it, and died May 16, 1791, 
aged GO years. Having laid down the sword with honor, he resumed the 
plough with industry : by the latter to maintain what the former had won. 
The virtues of the patriot, citizen, and Christian adorned his life, and his 
worth was acknowledged by the grief and respect of all ranks at his death. 

The stone above the grave of Colonel Buttrick's father, Deacon 
Jonathan Buttriek, records that he ' ' was followed to the grave 
by his widow and 13 well-instructed children." On the tomb of 
the Rev. William Emerson is this ejiitaph : "Enthusiastic, elo- 
quent, affectionate and pious ; he loved his family, his people, his 
God, and his country. And the last he yielded the cheerful sacri- 
fice of his life." On the slope toward the summit, at the right of 
the path, is the grave of Captain John Stone, " the architect of that 
modern and justly celebrated piece of architecture, Charles River 
Bridge," at Boston, the stone thus inscribed bearing date of 1791. 
A white stone in this part of the inclosure, the first white stone set 



CONCORD, BY WAY OF BEDFORD. 191 

up here, we are told, typifies the virtues of a good woman, — " de- 
signed by its durability to perpetuate the memory and hy its colour 
to signify the moral character of Miss Abigail Dudley who died 
June 4, 1812, aged 73." The oldest grave, or at least the grave- 
stone with oldest date, is beside the main path, on the summit, 
with the name of Joseph Merriam, died April 20, 1(577. Beyond, 
on the farther side of the hill, is one of the graves most sought, 
that of John Jack, an old slave, marked by a stone with this rare 
epitaph, attributed to the Tory lawyer, Daniel Bliss, son of the 
minister : — 

God wills us free, man wills us slaves 

I will as God wills ; God's will be doue. 

Here lies the body of 

John Jack 

a native of Africa, who died 

March 1773 aged about sixty years. 

Though born in a laud of slavery, 

he was boru free. 

Though he lived in a land of liberty, 

he lived a slave ; 

till by his honest though stolen labour 

he acquired the source of slavery, 

which gave him his freedom : 

though not long before 

Death the grand tyrant, 

gave him his final emancipation, 

and put him on a footing with kings. 

Though a slave to vice, 

he practiced those virtues, 

without which kings are but slaves. 

The Liberty pole stood toward the southern end of the crest. 

On the farther side of the square, nearly in front of the Soldiers' 
monument, and near the head of Lowell Street, a tablet marks 
the site of " the first Town House used for town meetings and the 
county courts, 1721-94," which the British fired, but afterward 
extinguished the flames when warned that gunpowder was stored 
in the building. On Lowell Street, a few rods from the square, 
the site of the house of Peter Bulkeley, the first minister, 
where the trade with the Indians was made, is marked by a tab- 
let in front of the second house on the right, which reads : — 

Here in the house of the 

Reverend Peter Bulkeley 

first minister and one of the 

founders of this town, 

a bargain was made witli the 

Squaw Sachem, the Sagamore Tahattawanx 

and other Indians, 

who then sold the right in 

the Six Miles Square called Concord 

to the English planters 

and gave them peaceful possession 

of the land, 

A. D. 1636. 



192 



CONCORD, BY WAY OF BEDFORD. 



On the square near the corner of Lowell Street is the relic of 
one of the storehouses sacked by the British, in the low part be- 
tween the corner and the red Thoreau House. The latter is the 
most modern hotel of the town, and not the modernized house of 
Thoreau, as many strangers assume. 

From the square we naturally seek, first, the Battle Ground. 
Taking Monvunent Street at the right and strolling along the 
left sidewalk, we make it within a short half-mile. The first 
street opening at the right leads to Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, 
where are the graves of Hawthorne, Emerson, Thoreau, the Al- 
cotts, the Hoars, and others famed in letters and affairs, which 
we shall include in the latter part of our walk. This street lies 
against the hill which was the minute-men's second post whence 
they retreated over the Old North Bridge to await reinforcements 
as Colonel Smith's troops entered the village. Farther on, on Mon- 
ument Street nearly opposite the first opening at the left, we pass a 
house of 1775, one of the few then standing on this road. 

Soon after crossing the railroad track, the broad side of " The 
Old Manse" at the left, back from the thoroughfare, is dis- 
closed through the trees. A few rods farther we have the gray 







I 



The Old Manse. 



front with gambrel roof and single dormer window in view through 
the long avenue of oak and maple, two hundred feet from the 
rough-hewn granite gate-posts to the ancient parsonage door. It is 



CONCORD, BY WAY OF BEDFORD. 193 

the same picture, only grayer, and with oak and maple replacing 
the black ash avenue of that day, which Hawthorne limned as 
setting for his enduring "Mosses." The "minister's house" for 
generations, — of William Emerson, the youthful "fighting par- 
son " with gentle soul, who built it ten years before the battle at 
the bi'idge close by, and, for more than sixty years, of the " good 
Ripley," " the shepherd and judge of his people ; " with its 
"Saint's Chamber," so titled "because holy men in their youth 
had slept, and studied, and prayed there," its generous dining- 
room in which as guests " the old-time ministers held their solemn 
feasts," — it quite resembles, as Hawthorne jnctured, the time- 
honored parsonages of England. It was, Bartlett tells us, the 
principal house of the town for many years and probably the only 
one which had two stories and was built with two chimneys. The 
most picturesque view is of the back from the river side. Here 
a section of the roof is finished in a leanto, and the back entrance 
is embowered in lilacs. The worn ti*ees at the rear are the rem- 
nant of the orchard which Dr. Ripley set out in his declining 
years, and lived to enjoy its fruit. Hawthorne's " kitchen gar- 
den," which he used to visit and revisit " a dozen times a day, 
and stand in deep contemplation over my vegetable progeny with 
a love that nobody could share or conceive of who had never 
taken part in the process of creation," — skirted the front avenue. 
A broad hall divides the house in the middle, with rooms of vary- 
ing breadth opening from either side. The small room over the 
dining-room, at the back of the second floor, was Ralph Waldo 
Emerson's study, where he wrote " Nature," and the study of 
Hawthorne during his occupancy of the house, " a most delightful 
little nook that ever afforded its snug seclusion to a scholar," its 
three windows "set with little old-fashioned panes of glass each 
with a crack across it," from one of which the minister's wife 
gazed out upon the fight at the bridge. On the glass of one of the 
western windows Hawthorne and his wife cut these inscriptions 
with a diamond : " Nathi Hawthorne. This is his study. 1843." 
"Inscribed by my husband at sunset, April 3*1 1843, in the gold 
light. S. A. H." "Man's accidents are God's purposes. Sophia 
A. Hawthorne, 1843." Dr. Ripley's study was on the first floor 
opposite the present parlor. 

William Emerson bought the fields and pasture in which the " Old Manse " 
stands, and built the house the next year after he had become the parish 
minister, then but twenty-two years old, and had married Phebe Bliss, the 
daughter of his predecessor. He was a descendant in the fourth generation 
of Joseph Emerson, who married the granddaughter of Peter Bulkeley, the 
first minister and leader of the Concord colonists. Ezra Ripley became tlie 
minister in 1778, and, marrying the widow of William Emerson, thus suc- 
ceeded to the Manse. He attained the age of ninety years. Ralph Waldo 



194 



CONCORD, BY WAY OF BEDFOEI^. 



Emerson boarded here with his grandparents for about a year, 1834-35. The 
Manse was Hawthorne's home from the time of his marriage in 1842 to 1846. 
It is now occupied by descendants of Dr. Ripley. 

The house nearly opposite the "Old Manse," old at the time 
of the Fight, with the hole in the L made by a British bullet, is 
known as the Elisha Jones house, from its owner at that period. 
The piece of timber nailed against a beam near the bullet-hole is 
a relic of the Old North Bridge, and the stone beneath it is said to 
be the rock across which Captain Isaac Davis of Acton fell when 
he received his mortal wound in the Fight. This stone, Bartlett 
says, was one of a row of stepping-stones used when the water 
was high on the causeway, and was identified by certain stains 
upon it. The bullet which has left its mark in the house was 
fired at Captain Jones, who, it is related, was standing, gun in 
hand, g.t the open door of the shed as the regulars passed by 
on their hurried march back to the village. 

Entering now the avenue of tall pines and firs opening from the 
highway, at the left, a few steps bring us to the North Bridge and 




The Battle Monument. 



the Battle Ground. The Battle Monument at the approach to 
the bridge marks the British position, the statue of the Minute- 
Man on the opposite bank, the position of the Americans. The 
inscription on the monument reads : — 



CONCORD, BY WAY OF BEDFORD. 195 

Here 

oil the 19th of April, 1775 

was made the first forcible resistance to 

British Aggression. 

On the opposite bank stood the American militia, 

here stood the invading army. 

And on this spot the first of the enemy fell 

in the War of the Revolution, 

which gave Independence to these United States. 

In gratitude to God, and in the love of Freedom, 

this monument was erected, 

A. D. 1836. 

Near the monument, beneath the wall on the left side of the 
lane, two of the British, killed anjl left on the ground, are buried 
where they fell. Their names were never learned, and their sep- 
ulchre was unmarked until the centennial celebration of the Fight, 
when the line "Grave of British soldiers," which appears on a 
smooth-faced stone in the wall, was cut. A heavy iron chain 
now surrounds the grave. Altogether, it is more effective than 
the shaft. The stone for the monument came from a white 
granite boulder in the oak woods of Westford, the home of 
Lieutenant-Colonel John Robinson, who marched at the request 
of Major Buttrick by his side, down the hill to the attack. 




The North Bridge. 



Crossing the picturesque "Battle Bridge," which is in part a 
reproduction of the original one, we are before French's admu-able 
work most effectively placed about a hundred feet from the end 
of the bridge in front of the old stump of an apple-tree, which is 
supposed to be the spot where Captain Davis received his mortal 
wound. The figure of heroic proportions faithfully reproduces 



196 



CONCORD, BY WAY OF BEDFORD. 



the minute-man of the Revohition, in the garb of the farmer-sol- 
dier, the waistcoat hanging heavily with the bullets in its pockets, 
leaving his plough in the furrow, and answering, musket in hand, 
the call to arms ; the attitude alert, the face serious and resolute. 
For inscription are the opening lines of Emerson's noble hymn, 
written for the dedication of the Battle Monument, July 4, 1837, 
incised in the panel on the front face of the pedestal : — 

By the rude bridge that arched the flood 

Their flag to April's breeze unfurled ; 
Here once the embattled farmers stood, 

And fired the shot heard round the world. 

On the rear face are simply the dates : " 1775. Nineteenth of 
April, 1875." The statue was cast from the metal of ten pieces 
of brass cannon given to the town by Congress, and the pedestal is 
a block from the same boulder from which the Battle Monument 
came. The willow hedge planted around the grounds, designed 
to protect the abutment of the bridge from floods, adds beauty to 
the setting. 




The Minute Man. 



CONCORD, BY WAY OF BEDFORD. 197 

Daniel C. French, the sculptor, is a native of Concord. This was his first 
important piece of statuary, and brought him quick renown. His earliest stu- 
dio was on the farm of his father. Judge Henry F. French, a dainty structure, 
divided into reception and working rooms. Here he modeled this statue, his 
group of Law, Prosperity, and Power, and other notable compositions. When 
the Minute-man was finished, in 1874, he was but twenty-four years of age. 

We linger on the " American side," fascinated by the tranquil 
scene. It is to-day an idyllic spot, a place of peace and quietude. 
The idle river, "the most unexcitable and sluggish stream that 
ever loitered imperceptibly towards its eternity — the sea," sweeps 
gently behind the " Old Manse," and, coming under the bridge, 
makes its winding course nox-thward. Trees and rushes hne its 
further brink and are mirrored in its placid surface. A canoe 
glides noiselessly by. Behind us spreads the broad and open field. 

At the time of tlie Fight the old road came across the bridge, ran parallel 
with the stream for some distance, and then, ascending the high ground to 
the northward, went on to Carlisle. Dr. Ripley gained a title to the way to 
the bridge by possession, and when the movement for the Battle Monument 
was started, he reconveyed it to trustees for the memorial, and gave the Bat- 
tle Ground, which was included in the Old Manse field, to the town. 

Returning to Monument Street we continue farther up the road 
to Liberty Street, opening at the left, and so reach the higldand 
field where the Americans formed, "the minute companies on the 
right and the militia on the left, facing the town," and from which 
they marched in double file toward the bridge. At the turn from 
the Battle Field lane the tall hedge of arbor vitse along the street 
front of the corner place excites a note of admiration. This was 
set out many years ago by the late Minot Pratt [see Walk c], 
from slips brought from Virginia. A footpath passes through it. 
The picturesque piece of abandoned road over at the right of the 
highway is all that now remains of the " bridle road " around 
the Ridge, which the Provincials took to attack the retreating 
regulars at Merriam's Corner. 

Liberty Street makes a short run to its junction with Estabrook 
Road (which leads by the stretch of Estabrook Woods into 
which Walk c extends), turns here sharply to the left, and soon 
curves in a southwesterly direction to Lowell Street, in which it 
ends. In the bend, on the left side, a few rods beyond the Esta- 
brook Road junction, is the old Buttrick house, the home of 
Major Buttrick, and next beyond is " Battlelawn," the hand- 
some modern estate of Edwin S. Barrett, a direct descendant of 
Colonel Barrett, spreading down the historic hill slope. On a 
bovilder set in the lawn we read easily from the sidewalk this 
inscription, giving the record of the Barretts on the eventful 
day: — 



198 CONCORD, BY WAY OF BEDFORD. 

Battle Lawn. 

April 19, 1775. 

From this hill 

Colonel James Barrett 

commanding the Americans 

gave the order to march to 

the bridge, but not to fire 

unless fired upon by the British. 

Captain Nathan Barrett led 

his company to defend the 

bridge, pursued the British 

to Charlestovvn, and though 

wounded, captured Major Pitcairn's 

horse, saddle and pistols 

and returned home with liis 

trophies. 

Turning, we observe on the other side of the road, nearly opposite, 
the tablet marking the hillside niustering-field, extending back 
over what is now known as " Keyes's Hill : " — 

On this Field 

the Minute Men and Militia 

formed before marching 

down to the 

Fight at the Bridge. 

The house of Colonel Barrett to which a detachment was sent 
from the North Bridge before the Fight, to destroy military 
stores there, is about a mile and three quarters westward, near An- 
nursnack Hill, toward Acton. It is reached by the Lowell road, 
to the right, as we enter from Liberty Street, and thence by the 
old Mill Road. It still stands, an ancient farmhouse in a pictur- 
esque neighborhood, much the same as in 1775, when the British 
soldiers swarmed over it and about the farmyai'd, and were fed in 
the great kitchen by the wife of Colonel Barrett, who was himself 
then in the field on Keyes's Hill, the brave woman refusing the 
proifered pay from the officers, saying, "We are commanded to 
feed our enemies." " The end door through which the King's 
troops entered still swings on its time-honored hinges," we are 
assured, "and the doorstep is the same as when passed by the 
enemy." The " muster-room," in which Colonel Barrett recruited 
the militia before the outbreak, is near the entrance door, and in 
its floor is pointed out a patch which covers a hole, said to have 
been made by a cannon-ball dropped in the haste of removal of the 
war stuffs to fresh hiding-places before the soldiers reached the 
farm. Near the house is "Spruce Gutter," a secluded depression 
which yet holds this name, where gun-carriages were hidden ; the 
field where cannon were buried under fresh furrows may be identi- 
fied, and also the front yard where the troops made a pile of the 
material which they found, and were about to fire, when the sounds 



CONCORD, BY WAY OF BEDFORD. 199 

of musketry coming: from the North Bridge hastened their depart- 
ure. They reerossed the bridge unmolested, for by this time the 
Fight there was over, and the American companies were hurrying 
by the path back of the ridge toward Merriam's Comer. In 1775, 
there were three Barrett houses here, on three farms, — the origi- 
nal homestead divided, — and a niill, constituting quite a colony. 

Our route from Liberty Street continues down Lowell Street to 
the left, and toward the river again. As we reach the turn to the 
old South Bridge (now called the Red Bridge, in form resembling 
that at which a British guard was posted on the Nineteenth), we 
pass in sight of one of the old Hunt houses, over on the right, now 
belonging to the Hosmers. The old Hosmer house, the home of 
Captain Joseph Hosmer, adjutant under Major Buttrick in the 
Fight, is at the other end of the village. From the bridge look- 
ing westward, we discern the tablet set in the great boulder known 
as Egg Rock, against a lovely bank of tree and vine, at the union 
of the Sudbury and Assabet rivers, and the beginning of the Con- 
cord, which reads : — 

On the hill Nashawtuk 
at the meeting of the rivers 

and along the banks 
lived the Indian owners of 

Musketaquid 
before the white men came. 

In the opposite direction, looking down the Concord, we have an- 
other pleasant stretch of this placid stream. The dainty structure 
on the right bank, reached by a short field walk from the road, 
is the Nashawtuk Canoe-house, the shore home of a number of 
graceful craft, and where hospitality dwells. This is a private 
clubhouse (Messrs. Hill, Wightman, and Lombard, hosts), with all 
the comforts which canoeists relish, a shaded porch in summer 
time, and fireplace within which sheds a genial warmth on chilly 
days. In the river bend beyond, at the approach to the Old North 
Bridge, is the more antique canoe-house of the late George B. 
Bartlett, in life most kindly of hosts. Near by the Bartlett house 
is the rock from which Hawthorne embarked for his river voyage 
in Thoreau's boat. Bartlett is commemorated by this graceful 
inscription engraved upon a rock near a group of hemlocks at the 
point where the two rivers meet : — 

By the ancient hemlocks grim and gray 

Our boat drifts slowly on its way. 

Memorial 

to 

George Bradford Bartlett 

1896 

Most courteous kindly gentleman, 

the tender friend of all. 



200 



CONCORD, BY WAY OF BEDFORD. 



We return to the square by way of Lowell Street, and, taking 
the street at the left of the Town-house, make our way to Sleepy 
Hollow Cemetery. It is a walk of not over two minutes from the 
square, by this way, to the entrance gate. The graves which the 
pilgrim first seeks are in close neighborhood on The Ridge and its 
slopes, along the northern border of the inclosure, beyond the great 
green hollow which gives the burying-ground its name. We ascend 
the wooded hill from the hollow by the Ridge Path. Hawthorne's 
grave is the first met, at the left of the path in a grove of pines, 







J .. .t.«.-l, , ^ y'l.^ 




The Grave of Hawthorne. 



on the ridge summit overlooking the river valley below, — a low 
mound marked by a white stone with only the name " Haw- 
thorne," inclosed by a hedge of arbor vitae. It is a spot which was 
much frequented by Hawthorne, and a favorite musing-place with 
him. Just below the Hawthorne lot, at the right of the path, is 
Thoreau's grave in the Thoreau family lot, marked by a granite 
stone. By his side lies his brother John, whose genius, Bartlett 
says, might have outshone Henry's, had not he died "in its first 
flush." Next, near the Thoreaus, are the Alcotts, — Bronson and 
his wife and three of the four daughters, Mrs. Pratt being buried 
beside her husband in another lot, — each grave marked with a low 
marble stone bearing initials only. A few paces westward bring us 



CONCORD, BY WAY OF BEDFORD. 



201 



to the grave of Emerson, on the right side of the path, under the 
pine tree which he had chosen years before his death as his resting- 



)'iyljg 



71 



&^^li 



. iM^l'i^' 







The Grave of Emerson. 

place. A worn path made by countless visitors encircles the boul- 
der of pink quartz at its head. On the bronze plate set into the 
rock we read these lines from his own poem : — 

The passive master lent his hand 

To the great soul, that o'er him planned. 

Close by are the graves of Emerson's mother, of his eccentric " Aunt 
Mary," of his wife, and of his little son Waldo, each marked by 
slate stones, the stone at the child's grave with these lines from 
" Threnody : " — 

The hyacinthine boy, for whom 

Morn well might break and April bloom ; 

The gracious boy, who did adorn 

The world whereunto he was bom. 

Down the northern slope of The Ridge, a short walk will bring 
us to the Hoar family lot, on Glen Path, distinguished by the mon- 
ument to Samuel Hoar (b. 1778, d. 1856), designed by Hammatt 
Billings. The epitaph on the face of the monument, recounting 
the virtues of this notable character, — " long one of the most 
eminent lawyers and best beloved citizens of Massachusetts, a safe 
counsellor, a kind neighbor, a Christian gentleman," — was writ- 
ten by the late Judge E. Rock wood Hoar. Admirably phrased 
epitaphs from the same true pen are on the gravestones of other 



202 CONCORD, BY WAY OF BEDFORD. 

members of the family. On the slab above the grave of Edward 
Sherman Hoar we read this exquisite tribute : " He cared nothing 
for the wealth of fame his rare genius might easily have won ; 
but his ear knew the songs of all birds, his eyes saw the beauty of 
flowers and the secret of their life. His unerring taste delighted 
in what was best in books. So his pure and quiet days reaped 
their rich liarvest of wisdom and content." The grave of Judge 
Hoar, who died in 1895, is also in this lot. 

Back to the square we take Main Street and Thoreau Street to 
the Fitchburg station, where our walk ends. On the way along- 
Main Street we pass the Public Library building at the junction of 
streets on the left side. Near by, on the opposite side, is the old 
mansion-house of the late Edward Hoar, birthplace of Senator and 
of the late Judge Hoar, now occupied by Mrs. Bradford, daughter 
of Edward Hoar, and her husband. A little further up the street 
is the home of Sherman Hoar, in the old house long occupied by 
his father. Judge Hoar, and next above is the larger house of his 
brother, Samuel Hoar. On the left side, near the turn of Thoreau 
Street, is the yellow house behind a mass of trees, in which Tho- 
reau last lived and where he died ; and afterward the home of 
Mrs. Pratt, the eldest daughter of Bronson Alcott, where he spent 
his declining years and died. On Elm Street, on the river side, a 
few rods off from Main Street, is the home of Frank B. Sanborn, 
the author and journalist. 

Walk c. In the Punkatasset Hill region and Estabrook Woods, 
north part of the town, reached from the B. & M. station by way 
of Monument Street, a few rods east of the station. Making a 
short cut across by the walk at the side of the railroad track, we 
take Monument Street at the left and follow it, past the Old Manse, 
the lane to the Battle-Ground, and other points covered in Walk b, 
direct to Punkatasset, a distance of about a mile. 

Nearly every house along the street above Liberty Street, where 
we turned in Walk &, has an historical or literary interest, while 
we have an almost continuous open view on the right side, the 
scattered houses above the river bridge being mostly on the "rising 
ground on the left side. The comfortable place above Liberty 
Street in a bend of the road, the long, low house on a knoll behind 
a row of elms, is the home and stock farm of Henry C. Merwin, 
the well-known litterateur who successfully combines the culture 
.of the horse and the dog with the pursuit of authorship. Next 
beyond is the old Minot Pratt homestead with the Concord nurse- 
ries, now owned by Minot Pratt's son, Frederick G. Pratt. The 
"Pratt Elm," in the front yard, near the highway, now nearly 
two centuries old, is alluded to in Dame's " Typical Elms and 
other Trees of Massachusetts " as " the most conspicuous exempli- 



CONCORD, BY WAY OF BEDFORD. 203 

fication of the oak-tree type, and worthy to be reckoned among 
the historic celebrities even in historic Concord." The great tree 
has a girth, five feet from the ground, of seventeen feet, and it 
rises eighty-five feet. Two others, one close to the porch of the 
house, the other by the barn, are almost as notable, if not quite so 
old. Upon this place and in congenial spots near hy^ or along the 
river bank, are many native plants from other sections of the 
country and some foreign ones introduced by the late Minot Pratt, 
who was a botanist as well as a lover of nature, companion of 
Thoreau on many a tramp in Concord woods. Among these are 
the beech fern, the bloodroot, the larger yellow lady's slipper, the 
chntonia, the yellow iris, the violet wood-sorrel, the painted tril- 
lium, the rose-colored huckleberry. Minot Pratt was a Brook 
Farmer, and when the community disbanded he moved to this 
place. In a sheltered spot here, under a great white oak, is the 
grave of his son, Theodore Parker Pratt, the first child born at 
Brook Farm. [See Walk No. 36.] The little house next above the 
Pratt homestead was for many years the home of Miss Marianne 
Ripley, sister of George Ripley, the originator of the Brook Farm 
experiment, and one of his most steadfast supporters in it. The 
quaint cottage with double piazzas, in a maze of shrubbery, perched 
on a slope of Punkatasset (the side of which the road is now ascend- 
ing), is the old house of Ellery Channing, the poet, enlarged. The 
Rev. Samuel Bobbins, who was its next owner, lifted the part built 
in 1843 by Channing, and added the under story, giving the struc- 
ture its present odd appearance. On the hillside back of the house 
are the remnants of the original vineyard, yet bearing, from which 
the Concord grape, propagated by Daniel Hunt by cuttings from 
Ephraim Bull's vineyard [see Walk 6], was first marketed. Next 
is the ancient Hunt house, one of the oldest houses now in Con- 
cord, The oldest part is the farther section, showing the "sag of 
time" in its aged roof, but the "new part" is quite an hundred 
years old. Here the Provincials were given breakfast on the 
morning of the Concord Fight while aAvaiting reinforcements on 
this hill, their third position before the encounter at the Old North 
Bridge. The next and last place in the interesting line is the Cap- 
tain Nathan Barrett house, built some years before the Revolution, 
much enlarged and modernized by the present owner, the Rev. 
Charles Hutchins, clergjmtian and author. This commands the 
richest view, the beauty of which we may best enjoy from the field 
on the right side, at the bend of the road. Passing throiigh the 
bars and taking position on the spur of the hill, we have before 
us the broad panorama of wooded hills, great sweeps of mea- 
dow, the horse-shoe bend of the river, and hills again. At the left 
we have Ball's Hill and the woods constituting the preserve of 



204 CONCORD, BY WAY OF BEDFORD. 

William Brewster, of Cambridge, picturesquely laid out, which 
some day ought to be a public reservation ; above the trees appears 
the Bedford church spire ; below and in front of us are the lovely 
meadows and the serijentine river ; at the right, the hills of Lin- 
coln ; farther around, Nobscot Hill in Sudbury. 

Monument Street at this point makes a sharp turn to the left, 
and presently becomes the River Road to Carlisle. We retrace our 
steps to the old Channing house and mount through the back 
orchard and field toward the woods of the hill-top. We strike for 
the upper corner of the boundary walls at the right. On the way 
up we pass through the old vineyard ; and near the top of the field, 
if we turn and look back, we are rewarded by one of the prettiest 
of views from Concord hills. Our way goes by an old oak and 
enters the woods through an opening of the stone wall at the right. 
Taking the pathless wood up to the summit, we soon reach the 
Observatory, built on the highest point (300 feet), by Mr. Hutchins, 
whose estate embraces the larger part of Punkatasset. Of course 
we climb the steep steps to the outlook. Sweeping the horizon 
from north to south, we see the tips of Wachusett and Monadnock, 
the nearer Lexington and Arlington hills, through a rift between 
these hills a shadowy outline of Boston (if the atmosphere be clear 
and our eyes strong), and southward Lincoln and Sudbury hills. 

From the Observatory bearing around to the right of the entrance 
steps, we take the path leading north by west over the hillside. 
Passing through thickets of small trees, we enter a grove of tall 
pines. At this point, about a quarter of a mile from the summit, 
we strike into these woods sharply to the right. Taking that part 
of the stone wall running toward the west as our guide, and keep- 
ing it on our left, we follow over a moraine to a lovely valley and 
through a region beautified by noble trees, pines predominating, 
ferns of various varieties, the partridge-berry, and other trailing 
plants. On reaching the swamp on the edge of the valley, we bear 
to the northwest, by a group of very fine pines, along the line of 
the wire fence here, and, turning with the fence to the westward, 
come upon the Asa Gray Spring in a frame of mossy stone against 
a wooded bank, shaded by a large red maple. One day in June 
forty years ago. Professor Gray, tramping through these woods 
with Minot Pratt, lingered in this enchanting spot, and thence- 
forth the spring has borne his name, bestowed upon it that day by 
Mr. Pratt. Still following the wire fence over the stone wall across 
the wet valley to the northward, and then toward the west, we 
reach the banks of Saw-Mill Brook, one of the most picturesque 
parts of the Punkatasset region. The site of the old mill — a 
pencil-mill which finished its work a century ago, and was then 



CONCORD, BY WAY OF BEDFORD. 205 

abandoned — is a few steps up the right bank on the farther edge 
of the stream, densely shaded by overhanging trees. The singing 
brook rises a little w ay off to the westward, and flows to the river. 
Here by the mill-site it makes a miniature cascade. We may 
stroll along the ancient mill-dam to the westward a few rods, to 
another swampy quarter, through a rich flora, by trailing plants 
and shrubs and shading trees ; then back toward the mill-site we 
direct our steps to Hiibbard's Hill. The course is east by north 
for a short distance, then northward ; but if we keep the wire 
fence in sight, following it on the right side, we shall not go astray. 

After passing through a "grown-up " pasture we strike a cart- 
road, or lane, along the west base of Hubbard's Hill. This hill 
was at one time almost entirely covered with heavy hemlock tim- 
ber. It now has, with a few hemlocks, and handsome ones, a 
good growth of white pine, pitch pine, cedar, and black birch. 
Some of the white pines growing in place of hemlocks cut off about 
twenty-five years ago are ten inches in diameter. At a turn of the 
lane we note an exceptionally fine chestnut. But the glory of these 
woods is a remarkable group of three or four red oaks, probably 
from two hundred to two hundred and fifty years old, with a beau- 
tiful bed of ferns covering the gi'ound under them. These trees 
are at the left of the lane just beyond the turn, with sycamores, 
barberries, and privets near by. We follow the lane a few rods 
bej^ond, across a wet valley into a pasture dotted with juniper and 
red cedars. Then crossing a low stone wall, and bearing to the 
light of a boggy place, we take a foot-path along the edge of the 
higher wooded land, with its four large boulders well apart, then 
down the slope beyond, toward a group of tall pines in the dis- 
tance, to an opening in the stone wall through which we reach the 
cart-road, leading to the right, out upon Estabrook Road. At 
the first turn of this cart-road from the point at which we take it, 
a narrower path branches to the left over a long, narrow eschar 
covered with magnificent specimens of pines, red and white oaks, 
and chestnuts. From its summit is a beautiful view through the 
trees over the valley along Avhich we have come. As we ap- 
proach Estabrook Road we pass near by, to the right, an ancient 
lime-kiln overrun with vines, which was abandoned nearly a cen- 
tury ago after use from early times ; the old lime-quarry, some 
distance away on the other side of the road, is on our route. 

Estabrook Road extends for about four miles between Concord 
and Carlisle, a good part through the woods, and is one of the 
favorite summer drives. We turn into it to the right, toward Car- 
lisle, and follow it to the inviting lane, the first opening at the left, 
— Peace Orchard Road, by name. The roadway toward the lane 



206 CONCORD, BY WAY OF BEDFORD. 

is lined on the right side with pitch pines, rather a remarkable 
collection, and on the other side by a " pump-log " fence. In the 
row of pines, if we look closely, we shall observe a curious growth, 
what may be called the twin pines : a pitch and a white pine very 
close together, and united by a twig growing fi'om one trunk to 
the other. By Peach Orchard Road we reach the old lime-quarry 
a few rods on, at the right, on the edge of the Estabrook Woods. 
It is an interesting formation, appearing to-day, apparently, much 
as it appeared when its working ceased. The Hme was found in 
narrow seams between layers of granite rock with a sharp dip. 
These seams at the widest point are not over four or five feet, 
and must have been worked with great difficulty. Many colored 
mosses and lichens are now growing on the walls of the narrow 
fissures, and running vines make the old quarry picturesque. Just 
beyond we turn from Peach Orchard Road and take a foot-path 
bearing sliglitly to the right, which is soon lost in the sprout land ; 
but we keep the same direction until we strike another cart-road, 
by which we again enter Estabrook Road. At the corner are yet 
the walls of the Estabrook farmstead, from which the buildings 
disappeared a hundred years ago, and were then old. The cellar, 
now filled with sumach, is fully defined by the well-made walls 
still standing. Extensive clumps of lilac and other old-fashioned 
plants are scattered about the house site. The Estabrooks were 
among the early settlers and long established here, but the Con- 
cord family is now said to be extinct. 

At this point, we take the right turn into Estabrook Road, and 
follow it back toward Concord. About twenty rods below the 
wood path near the lime-kiln by which we first entered the road, 
now on our left, we pass a remarkably graceful white oak in the 
woods just within the roadside stone wall. It is notable for its 
size as well as its beauty, measuring about eight and a half feet 
in circumference, and having a spread of from sixty to seventy 
feet. Farther along, on the right side of the road, down the bank, 
is a handsome double white oak ; and on the opposite side, a large 
oak and a large pine ; below these two trees, a pretty valley with 
a spring. Reaching an abandoned road to the left, the old Pencil 
Mill Road, we come upon the site of Thoreau's hut after its re- 
moval from the Walden Woods. It stood within an angle in the 
stone wall on the edge of this road. For a few years while here 
it was occupied by one Clark, who believed himself a second Tho- 
reau, and imagined that living in the poet naturalist's hut would 
bring him inspiration. Finally the poor fellow became insane and 
was placed in an asylum. He was the son of a worthy farmer 
who lived with his large family in a small house still standing 



CONCORD, BY WAY OF BEDFORD. 207 

near by, which was enlarged with the boards of the hut after its 
demolition. When this addition was accomplished, the farmer's 
wife, contemplating the exj^anded homestead with admiration, 
declared that it should be called " The Heavenly Mansion," and 
by this blissful name it went for years after. 

When Thoreau abandoned his hut by Walden Pond, it was " taken by a 
Scotch gardener, Hugh Whelan, who removed it some rods away " from the 
original site, "and made it his cottage for a few years"' [F. B. Sanborn]. 
Then, purchased by Clark, it was brought here. 

We may now take the field-path from the left side of Esta- 
brook Road, a little way farther on, and cross " Buttrick's New 
Pasture " and a moist vallej' to the Pratt nurseries, — a pretty 
walk, — so reaching Monument Street, by which return is made to 
the station ; or we may keep Estabrook Road to its finish toward 
Liberty Street, and thence reach Monument Street lower down. 

If we can give a day to Concord woods, we should, instead of 
returning by train from the Maine station, go on to the village, 
lunch at one of the inns, and then take a tramp through the 
Walden Woods and into the Fairhaven Bay region, favorite haunts 
of Thoreau. Starting from the village square for this walk, we 
should follow Walden Street (opening from Main Street) to the 
wood road, near its junction with Thoreau Street, leading into the 
woods. The wood road passes through the "Emerson Woods," 
and a path leads from it to the site of Thoreau's hut, marked by 
The Cairn. This is on a steep slope in an opening at the end of a 
bay which is surrounded by small and medium-sized oaks and 
hickories. After visiting this spot, return to the wood road and 
follow it to the west, passing over the railroad bridge at Walden 
station, and continuing some distance on to Sudbury Road. Then 
follow Sudbury Road to the top of the liill beyond Xine Acre 
Corner. Here pass through a pair of bars into a pasture road on 
the left. Follow this road close to the stone wall on the left to 
another pair of bars, through which pass to a moist valley, where 
there is a remarkable specimen of the swamp white oak. Not far 
beyond this valley the road becomes fully defined. Going to the 
summit of the ridge, a fine -view across Fairhaven Bay to Fair- 
haven Hill is obtained. Here bear to the right, keeping on the 
river side of the woods on the top of the ridge. Near this point 
is a tree-covered ledge on the edge of which is still standing the 
basswood tree made familiar by Thoreau's writings. This region 
is called Conantum. The walk continues toward the south along 
the side of this slope, which ends on the borders of the meadows of 
Fairhaven Bay, through a foot-path which sometimes f oIIoavs close 
to the edge of the meadow, and at other times half way up the 



208 CONCORD, BY WAY OF BEDFORD. 

bank, and is densely shaded with beautiful maples, birches, and 
occasional pines. Keep this path for about half a mile to an ex- 
ceedingly interesting region with cliffs covered with ferns and 
shaded by immense pines, hemlocks, chestnuts, with a rich under- 
growth. From this quarter the walk may be extended along the 
bluff to the highway bridge over the river, and thence along 
the road to South Lincoln station, a distance of about three miles 
from the cliffs ; or return made to Concord village and the Fitch- 
burg station by Sudbury Road. The total distance of this walk 
is about six miles from the village and back to the Fitchburg 
station ; and a little longer to the finish at Lincoln station. 

A pleasant short walk is from the bridge at Walden station over 
Fairhaven Hill to Fairhaven Bay, and across Baker's Farm, now 
owned by Charles Francis Adams, to Baker's Bridge station, a 
distance of about a mile and a half from Walden Pond. 



Watertown, Waverley, Belmont. 

From Boston (Bowdoin Square) to "Watertown line by electric car, through 
Cambridge, 7 miles ; fare, 5 cents : by steam car [Fitch.] to Mount Auburn 
Station, 6 miles ; fare, 10 cents. 

From Watertown to "Waverley, by way of Lexington Street, IJ miles. 
From Boston to Waverley by steam car [Fitch, or Cent. Mass. B. & M., S. 
Div.], 7 miles; fare, 12 cents. 

From "Waverley to Belmont Town Hall, by way of Mill Street and Concord 
Avenue, 1| miles ; direct, by way of Pleasant Street, 1 mile. From Boston to 
Belmont by steam car [Fitch.], 6 miles ; fare, 11 cents. 

Walk a [No. 28]. In "Watertown and Waverley. Features: the "Amphi- 
theatre" near Mount Auburn Station; the Old Graveyard; Revolutionary 
landmarks ; riverside strolls ; the bridge and its tablets ; the old Coolidge 
Tavern ; footprints of Theodore Parker ; pleasant by- walks ; the Main Street ; 
the oM road to Waverley ; Beaver Brook Reservation. Return by steam car 
from Waverley Station. 

Walk b [No. 29]. From Waverley through Belmont. Covers ancient 
Mill Street, the Concord Turnpike over Wellington Hill ; the grass-grown 
"abandoned road ; " Belmont Village ; Common Street ; Belmont Street and 
its wide-spreading estates ; Payson Park on Pequossett Hill. Return by 
steam car from Mount Auburn Station, or electric car from Mount Auburn. 

Watertown was named by the Court of Assistants sitting in Cliarlestown on 
September 17 (0. S. 7), 1(530, in the same order in which Boston was named, 
which declared that " Trimontaine shalbe called Boston ; Mattapan, Dor- 
chester ; & y« towne up y« Charles Ryver, Watertown." The settlement, 
however, was begun three months before, when Sir Richard Saltonstall, 
George Phillips, the minister, and others, " several score," having explored 
the Charles River, " found a suitable landing and convenient fields for agri- 
culture," brought their cattle, of wliich they had a goodly store, and their 
servants hither. The landing and ttie territory first settled are now within 
the precincts of Cambridge [see Walk No. 28] ; and Watertown, from one of 
the largest and most populous towns in the Massachusetts Colony, for the 
first fifteen to twenty years next only to Boston, has become one of the 
smallest, extending but three miles in length and less than one mile in width. 
From its original territory Cambridge has been enlarged, and Weston, 
Waltham, and Belmont have in part been formed. It lies at the head of 
navigation on the Charles River, 8 miles from Boston, mostly along the north 
bank, occupying fertile plains backed by hills of gentle slopes, of which 
White's Hill, nearest the town, rises about 200 feet, and Meeting-house Hill, 
slightly above, 250 feet. It early became widely known for its superior gar- 
den-farms and as a cattle-mart. In 1775 the sessions of the Provincial Con- 
gress, after the adjournment from Concord, were held here ; subsequently, 
the General Court of the Colony ; and, during a part of the Siege, Boston 
town-meetings. Watertown men had a part in the pursuit of the British 
soldiers on their retreat from Concord and Lexington ; and General Joseph 
Warren went from Watertown to the Battle of Bunker Hill. The place is 
also distinguished as the chief settlement of the Norsemen at the opening of 
the eleventh century, according to the theories of the late Professor Eben N. 
Horsford, who caused to be placed several interesting tablets at different 
points in the town. The United States Arsenal is within its limits, the 
grounds spreading over the river bank for about half a mile. 

Waverley is a village of Belmont, and embraces the Beaver Brook Reserva- 
tion, including the ancient Waverley Oaks, which are also in part within the 
limits of Waltham, the brook marking the dividing line. On the Waverley 
Hills, alongside of the reservation, is the extensive estate of the McLean 
Asylum, a branch of the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. 



210 WATERTOWN, WAVERLEY, BELMONT. 

Belmont, made from outlying parts of Watertown, Waltham, and West 
Cambridge (now Arlington), was incorporated in 1859. It occupies the slopes 
and valleys of a fringe of extremely picturesque hills, and contains a number 
of estates reaching the proportions of English country-seats. In its general 
appearance it is park-like, with beautiful roads, a noble avenue of elms, 
charming walks, and many pieces of landscape beauty. Its name was that 
borne before the incorporation of the town by the Cushing-Payson estate, for 
many years the most extensive and beautiful country-seat within its limits. 

Walk a. We start at the railway bridge by Mount Auburn Sta- 
tion [Fitch.], a few rods beyond the entrance to Mount Auburn 
Cemetery, and on the line between Cambridge and Watei'town, 
marked by a stone-bound at the bridge-side. Instead of immedi- 
ately following Mount Auburn Street, which the electric cars take, 
we turn to the right into Belmont Street, for the purpose of visit- 
ing the " Amphitheatre," which the late Professor Horsford 




?ili- 1./— ,.'■ . 



The ancient "Amphitheatre.' 



identified as the assembly-place of the Norsemen, dating nine 
centviries back. This is but a little way from the turn, on the 
right side of the road, beyond a vegetable garden, across which 
wc can see the tops of the stone posts of the chain fence inclosing 
it. A footpath by the side of the garden leads from the road 
direct to the place. The public way to it, however, is by Gushing 
Street, the second street at the right from Belmont Street, and 
thence by the first street at the left, not yet named. It is a curious 
depression in the earth into which we gaze from the fence-line on 
the high ground, — a spacious, natural amphitheatre, with grass- 
grown seats or terraces, six in all, narrowing as they approach the 
plain below, in which are now growing clumps of fine willows. 



WATERTOWX, WAVE RLE Y. BELMONT. 211 

The verdant banks are, in the late summer, aglow with blossoming 
goldenrod. Professor Horsford erected the chain fence which 
marks the presumed bounds of the inclosure, and provided for its 
preservation with other Norse landmarks. [See Walk No. 28.] 

Having viewed the " Amphitheatre," we return to Belmont 
Street, take a cross street at the left, and so come again on to 
Mount Auburn Street. Belmont Street, which here marks the 
dividing line between Watertown and Belmont, earlj^ develops 
into one of the beautiful roads of the beautiful region of Belmont, 
but we must reserve it for our Walk h. The second turn, by 
Grove Street, is the pleasanter one, and leads us directly to the 
first point of interest on Mount Auburn Street, — the Old Grave- 
yard. This lies on the southeast corner of Grove and Moiuit 
Auburn streets, a serene spot close to the thoroughfares, separated 
therefrom by a low stone wall over which we can easily step fx"om 
the sidewalk, with ancient trees and more ancient gravestones 
scattered over the thickly-grassed turf, wild vine and bush grow- 
ing among the graves, elms along the street lines. It was the first 
burying-ground in the settlement, in use as early as 1042, and 
adjoined the first meeting-house. We find numerous stones of 
quaint design and inscription with seventeenth-century dates, the 
oldest reaching back to 1674. Many of the slabs bear names of 
the earliest settlers, "progenitors and kindred " of many of those 
"who have lived or are living in almost every town" in New 
England, and disj^ersed throughout the countrj'. [Bond.] Here 
are graves of several generations of the Coolidge family, yet repre- 
sented in Watertown ; of the Wellingtons, the Cutters, the Stones, 
and of other well-known names identified with WatertoAvn and 
colonial history. One of the most unique inscriptions is found 
upon the slab marking the grave of Deacon John Stone, in a 
family group, " whose life was much desired and whose death is 
much lamented," which records that he "went rejoicing out of 
this world into the other on the 2()th day of March, 1091." Among 
the older tablets is the venerable gray stone above the grave of 
Josiah Tainter, who "sailed from England. June, 1()36, and de- 
parted this life February 20, 1689 / 90." Most conspicuous in the 
Shattuck family group is a memorial to William Shattuck, "the 
progenitor of the race that have borne his name in America." He 
died in 1672, at only fifty years of age. The inscriptions on the 
horizontal slabs over several tombs are difficult to decipher, being 
almost obliterated by time and weathering ; but upon one at least 
— that above the tomb of the early minister Bailey — we may, 
with a little study, get the drift of the epitaph. As given in 
Harris's " Epitaphs from the Old Burying-Ground in Watertown," 
it is as follows : — 



212 WATERTOWN, WAVERLEY, BELMONT. 

Here lies yo precious dust of Thomas Bailey. A Painful Preacher, An Ex- 
emplary Liver, A Tender Husband, A Careful Father, A Brother for Adversity, 
A Faithful Friend, A most Desirable Neighbor, A Pleasant Companion, A Com- 
mon Good, A Cheerful Doer, A Patient Sufferer, Lived much in a little time. 
A good copy for all survivors. Aged 35 years. Slept in Jesus, Jan. 21, 1688. 

The single monument here a granite obelisk of simple design, is 
especially histoi-ic, being to the memory of John Coolidge, the one 
Watertown man killed in the roadside fighting upon the British 
retreat from Concord and Lexington. It was erected, as the in- 
scription states, by descendants of Coolidge, and presented to the 
town on the hundredth anniversary of the battle. 

Coolidge was killed by a British flank guard near Arlington Heights. The 
tradition runs that he was plowing on the morning of the 19th of April, and, 
hearing of the march of the king's troops, " put up his cattle, took his gun, 
went to the village, fell in with a small company hastening forward from 
Needham, and, being more familiar with the road, acted as guide ; this small 
body of men met the flank guard and was fired upon, Coolidge falling." 

The outlook from this little burial-place of ancient make is 
upon pleasant surroundings, busy modern thoroughfares, broad 
estates, — a rich market-garden covering sloping grounds across 
Grove Street, backed by a forest in miniature. If it be early sum- 
mer we may have an old-world picture, over the way, of groups of 
Italian women, in brilliant colors and gay head-gear, toiling in the 
fields with more sombre-clad men. At the further side of the 
graveyard, Grove Street, which continues over to Coolidge Avenue 
near the river side, makes a junction with Arlington Street. If we 
chose to follow the latter, we would cross the railroad by the side 
of the East Watertown Station, and, turning into Elm Street at 
the right, come out on Arsenal Street by the arsenal grounds, some 
distance below the official entrance. The way is thickly lined with 
shade-trees and passes old places, compact market-gardens, dwell- 
ings of quaint pattern with an air of ease and comfoi-t, front yards 
gay with old-time flowers, frequent hedges behind or in place of 
fences. It is one of the several pleasant short road- walks in the 
town, but we had better not venture on it now, for it would take us 
quite out of our course. We should, however, make a note of it 
for a future " by-walk" (perhaps in connection with a Coolidge 
Avenue and Grove Street walk some day). Turning, then, from 
the graveyard on to Mt. Auburn Street, we saunter up the high- 
way, now developed after the modern boulevard fashion, toward 
the village. It is about half a mile beyond to cei'tain historic 
spots for which we are bound, and perhaps it would be well to 
cover this distance by electric car, and save our strength for the 
rural walk which we are to take further on. By School Street, 
the second thoroughfare from Belmont which crosses the highway. 



WATERTOWN, WAVERLEY, BELMONT. 213 

the fine grounds of the Cambridge Golf Club, covering hill and 
field, over to the left of the boulevard, are reached. 

The highway makes frequent turns, aifording views of gently- 
swelling hills on the one side, and now and again broad sweeps of 
field on the other, between the openings of the clustering houses. 
Our first stopping-place is by the second roadside burying-ground, 
occupying the corner of Mt. Auburn and Common streets, right 
side, for here is the first historic tablet. This burying-ground was 
the churchyard of the fourth meeting-house of the First Parish, 
the historic structure in which the Provincial Congress sat after the 
removal of that body from Concord [see Walk No. 25], and which 
was associated with other momentous affairs of the Revolutionary 
period. The heavy stone tablet placed against the fence close to 
the Common Street corner gives the record as follows : — 

Here 

Stood the Meeting House 

in which met 

The Provincial Congress 

From April 22 to July 10, 1775. 

Here 

The Great and General Court 

or Assembly 

Was originated, And Held Its 

Sessions From July 29, 1775 

To :N'ov. 9, 177G 

And From June 2 

To June 23, 1778. 

Several Boston town-meetings were also held here during the 
Siege ; and in March, 1776, it was the place selected for the observ- 
ance of the anniversary of the " Boston Massacre," when the 
oration was by the Rev. Peter Thacher, of Maiden, on the burning 
theme, " The Dangerous Tendency of Standing Armies in time of 
Peace." The old church, with its many historical associations, was 
allowed to disappear years ago, although it was by no means yet an 
antiquated building (biiilt in 1755, enlarged in 1819, demolished in 
1836), and its successor w^as placed nearer the present business cen- 
tre of the town. 

On Marshall Street, the next street above Common Street, also 
from the right side of the highway, is the tablet marking the " site 
of the dwelling-house in which General Warren spent the night be- 
fore the Battle of Bunker Hill." This was the Marshall Fowle 
mansion house, which stood here until about 1880, when it was re- 
moved to make way for Marshall Street, at that time laid out. 

The Fowle house was made use of by the Council because of its nearness to 
the church where the Congress was sitting. Warren toiled through the night, 
we ai'e told, in the transaction of public business, of which, as president of the 
Congress, member of the committees of correspondence and of safety, and an 



214 WATERTOWN, WAVERLEY, BELMONT. 

active leader in tlie military preparations going forward, his hands were full. 
His lodging-place was in the Hunt house, on the south side of the town, just 
beyond tlie old Coolidge Tavern, across the bridge, on Galen Street. Here he 
breakfasted, and it is related that before setting out for the field he urged the 
ladies of the household to spend the forenoon in preparing lint and baudages, 
observing, "Tlie poor fellows will want them all before night." " Mounting 
his horse ha rode slowly away toward the bridge, paused, then, galloping back 
to the door, with kisses bade them all again farewell." [Weiss.] Warren 
went first to the Hastings house in Cambridge, where the committee of safety 
then held its sessions [see Walk No. 28], and left there direct for the battle- 
field immediately after the arrival of the news that the "regulars had landed 
at Charlestown." The Fowle house was subsequently occupied by James 
Warren, the successor of General Warren in the presidency of the Congress, 
and here Mrs. Washington was a guest of Mrs. Mercy Warren for a few hours 
in December, 1775, when on her way from Mt. Vernon to Cambridge, " in her 
own carriage drawn by four horses, with colored postilions in scarlet and 
white liveries, military escort, and a guard of honor." 

It is but a few rods beyond the Mt. Auburn and Marshall streets 
corner to Beacon Square, where Mt. Auburn Street ends, North 
Beacon and Arsenal streets come together, and Main Street starts 
northward through the heart of the village. But we are to make 
a broad loop from Mt. Auburn Street, at a point a little way below 
the historic meeting-house site, to take in the arsenal and the river 
banks. So, turning back, we retrace our steps to Walnut Street, 
which opens at the right from Mt. Auburn Street as we are now 
walking. Thence, by a short walk, we reach Arsenal Street, along 
the way passing, on the right, the stockyards of the Watertown 
Cattle Market, and crossing the railroad track just below the 
shabby Union Market Station. On Ai'senal Street, turning to the 
left, we shortly reach the arsenal gates. It is a dreary neighbor- 
hood hereabout, but we soon pass to cheerier parts. Permission to 
explore the arsenal grounds, within certain defined limits, is easily 
obtained. A permit is necessary, as we learn at the guard-house, 
but this is courteously issued at the commandant's office, with 
slight formalities, when we state our harmless business. The 
official buildings attract because of their old-fashioned make and 
roominess ; and the grounds, well kept, extensive, sloping toward 
the winding river, invite the stroller. But, to the man called prac- 
tical, perhaps the great workshops where heavy ordnance are made 
are most engaging. In one building we may see the pondei'ous 
trip-hammer, capable, we are told, of striking a blow equal to the 
weight of 125 tons : and in others fine machinery working in the 
manufacture of gun-carriages, projectiles for seacoast guns, and 
other warlike contrivances. 

This arsenal was established in 1816, and the first buildings were completed 
in 1820. The original purchase embraced but 40 acres, and no additions were 
made until after the Civil War. Its total area at the present time is 100 acres. 

Leaving the arsenal grounds by the way we entered, and going 
back a few rods toward the point where we crossed the railroad 



WATERTOWN, WAVERLEY, BELMONT. 215 

track, we take short Prospect Street to the Riverside (so called, 
perhaps, because of the pleasant river-view which it opens from 
the dreary railroad neighborhood), and so pass to North Beacon 
Street, which comes out this way through the Brighton District of 
Boston. Here we turn to the right and proceed westward in the 




Charles River by the Arsenal. 



direction of the village centre. Some day we may follow the river- 
bank the entire distance, instead of the road, by the parkway of 
the Charles River Reservation (in connection with the Cambridge 
and Boston riverside parkways), but this is yet to be developed. 
The highway, however, is not unpleasant, and, being afoot, we 
can make a turn or two along the way through private roads to 
the river-bank, getting here and there a stretch of Riverside 
Walk. From the second opening on the left (the openings here are 
far apart), a private road makes up to a distant bank of trees, 
resembling a little forest. Venturing upon this road, Ave come to 
the Stiekney place, one of the old estates of Watertown, backing 
on the Riverside, in a quite picturesque situation. The mansion 
house here is of early nineteenth-century style, set within a grove 
of splendid trees, with a tree-lined avenue leading to Riverside 
Street, the public way on the west side. The sign, " No Trespass- 
ing," confronts us on the outskirts of the grove, but we have the 
permission of the present owners, who occupy the estate in the 
summer season, to cross it if we keep to the roadway. From 



216 WATERTOWN, WAVERLEY, BELMONT. 

Riverside Street, by taking the first right turn, we may come out 
again on North Beacon Street ; but we should by all means keep 
to Riverside Street, for the highway is uninteresting beyond the 
point at which we left it — and dusty ; and both streets finish in 
Beacon Square. Moreover, from Riverside Street, pretty through- 
out its modest length, we may swing, by a cross street, to the river, 
and stroll along the waterside for a little way where the parkway 
is to be, returning by a new cross street, further along, at the 
opening of which the present river-path ends abruptly. Riverside 
Street narrows at its finish into a lane close to the river's brink, 
with two pleasant mansion houses of old type on the opposite side. 

Now, crossing Beacon Square, we enter Main Street. The first 
opening on the left is Galen Street, an early county-road, and the 
way to Newton, which the electric ears take. We must turn into 
this street and stroll down to and across the bridge, to pass his- 
toric spots, read more tablets, and enjoy the up-river view. The 
foundry of the Walker Pratt Company, on the east side of the 
street, covers the site of the Blackman house, where Benjamin 
Edes, escaping from Boston with printing-press and type at the 
beginning of the Siege, published the " Boston Gazette and Coun- 
try Journal," from June 5, 1775, to October 28, 1776. 

On the bridge, the tablet against the parapet on the east side 
informs the passer that the " old bridge by the mill " crossed the 
river "near this spot as early as 1641." This old bridge was a 
foot-bridge built by Thomas Mayhew, then owner of the mill, and 
a man of importance in the settlement. He afterward moved 
to Martha's Vineyard, becoming "governor" of Nantucket, the 
Vineyard, and the Elizabeth Islands, and, with his son, was a 
missionary among the Indians. The mill was the first town grist- 
mill, built by Edward How (afterward Elder How), at the " joint 
expense of himself and Matthew Cradock," whose plantation on 
Mystic Side we pass in Walk No. 14. The other tablet, on the 
west side, is one of the series placed by Professor Horsford along 
the river, marking landmarks of the Norse settlements. It bears 
this inscription : — 

Outlook upon the stone dam 

and stone-walled docks and wharves of 

Norunibega. 

The seaport of the Northmen in 

Vineland. 



Erected by 

Eben Norton Horsford 

Dec. 31, 1892. 

Professor Horsford contended that " the basin, wharves, docks, 
and canals of this ancient seaport underlie " the Watertown of to- 



WATEETOWX, WAVE RLE Y, BELMONT. 217 

day, and are yet connected with and serve "its most prominent 
industries." The Newtonville cars, on the south side of this 
bridge, turning to the right, pass Cook's Pond dam, of which that 
part of the wall at right angles to the street is supposed to have 
been built by Northmen. 




Up-river from Watertown Bridge. 



The view from the bridge up-stream is a pleasant mingling of 
town and country, waterfall and factory, meadow and field, about 
the river banks. Along the south side beyond the dam is a walk 
over a footpath under the trees, which might be worth the taking 
if it were longer or led to pleasanter parts. Just over the bridge, 
on the easterly side of Galen Street, there still stands the old 
Coolidge Tavern (referred to in connection with the Warren tab- 
let, p. 213), but now a dwelling. For a long period, and notably 
during Revolutionary days, this was a popular resort. It was the 
appointed rendezvous for the Committee of Safety in May, 1775. 
Washington, when President, spent a night here on his return from 
his last visit to New England in 1789. Although of his entertain- 
ment Washington wrote in his Diary in disparaging terms, record- 
ing that "we lodged at the house of a Widow Coolidge near the 
bridge, and a very indifferent house it is," it would seem that 
pains were taken to make his stay agreeable ; for he was given 
supper in state in the great dining-room, " served by attendants 
who wore white dresses and neat checked aprons," and the best 
room, overlooking the river, was placed at his disposal. But the 
great man, whom we know to have been very human, was out of 
sorts, irritated at having been directed in Lexington to take the 
way by Watertown rather than by Waltham, so adding five miles 
to his journey, and he was probably in no mood to appreciate the 
Widow Coolidge's hospitality. Water Street, at the side of the 



218 WATERTOWN, WAVERLEY, BELMONT. 

old Coolidge Tavern, a narrow lane, in early times called a " gang- 
way," keeps in sight of the river for a short distance, then swings 
sharply around to the right and climbs the hill back again to 
Galen Street, by the side of the Parker Schoolhouse. The school- 
house was named for Theodore Parker, for the reason that the 
private school which Parker kept in Watertown in 1832 was near 
by. This school was in a little building, once a bakery, which 
stood on Water Street, behind the old house on the upper corner. 
Parker at this time boarded in the corner house, and here he met 
and wooed Lydia Cabot, who became his wife. 

Recrossing the bridge and back again to Main Street, we take 
our course through the village centre to Lexington Street, a quar- 
ter of a mile or so beyond, opening at the right just above the 
railroad bridge. Along the broad thoroughfare we pass public 
buildings and old dwellings, several of them full of years. By 
Church Street, on the corner of which the Town House stands, 
Watertown Station on the railway is reached. The notable piece 
of modern architecture along Main Street is the Free Public 
Library building, a brick structure in the French Renaissance 
style, with front columns and pilasters and gabled roof, well 
placed on a slight knoll back from the roadway. 

The Library building was designed by Shaw & Hunnewell, architects, 
Boston, and erected in 1882-83. The interior is well arranged with reading, 
reference and study, distributing, book, and librarian's rooms, separated, 
with the exception of the last-mentioned, by arches only, so that the whole 
interior is open to view. It is open-timbered, and the walls are finished with 
faced and moulded brick frescoed. In the basement story is a Patent Office 
Report library, and a large reading-room supplied with periodical literature, 
including newspapers " of particular interest and use to the industrial portion 
of the community," in accordance with the terms of the Asa Pratt fund, 
which was provided in 1888 by the heirs of Asa Pratt, a cabinet-maker who 
lived and worked at his trade in Watertown for more than .sixty years. The 
Free Library was first opened in March, 1869, with 2,200 volumes. It now has 
upward of 20,000 volumes and 25,000 pamphlets. Tlie first selection of books 
was, in large part, made by the Rev. John Weiss, the author and essayist, 
who was minister of the First Parish in 1843-45, and again in 18C2-69. It was 
preceded by early established public school and teachers' libraries. 

Back of the Free Library and the Green beyond it are pleasant 
streets lined with trees. By White Avenue, the next street on 
the further side of the Green, — the public Common, — we may 
reach and climb White's Hill (about 200 feet), which rises yonder 
at the right. Palfrey Street, lower down in the village, — opening 
from Mt. Auburn Street, — extends over this hill. The view from 
its top, where the standpipe of the local water-works is placed, 
embraces the village and the winding river. The higher Meeting- 
house Hill (220 feet) lies further over toward Belmont, partly in 
Belmont, and we shall come upon it in Walk b. 

Lexington Street starts northward and leads to Waverley by 



WATERTOWN, WAVERLEY, BELMONT. 219 



pleasant turns, a final sharp one to the left at its junction with 
Belmont Street. It was the old Concord Road, and at first passed 
around or on the slopes of Elbow Hill, over which it now goes. 
We find it, for the most part, a rural road, with extended views 
on the right side over valley to upland. For some distance along 
the hillside we can trace the old road, grass-grown, through field 
and pasture. At the junction with Belmont Street we are at 
what used to be called " Commodore's Corner," and by the site of 
the meeting-house of the " Middle Precinct " set up in 1()94, which 
occasioned much bickering between the sections of the town, 
and was finally abandoned. From the corner, Lexington Street 
broadens and soon makes down to the valley below Elbow Hill 
and the Waverley village business centre. Here it crosses the 
railroad, or railroads, — the Fitchburg and Central Massachusetts 
lines running side by side, — and continues a few rods farther to 
Mill Street, by the Beaver Brook Reservation. According to the 
guide-post just over the railway-crossings, we have come two miles 
from Watertown Main Street. 

Pleasant Street, branching off at the right, is the direct way to 
Belmont, one mile, and to Arlington beyond, finishing in Massa- 
chusetts Avenue. [See Walk No. 16.] The high ground at the 
right, locally known as Waverley Heights, is occupied by the Con- 
valescent Home of the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, 
and the buildings of the McLean Hospital for the Insane, con- 
nected with the same institution, which were formerly in Somer- 
ville on the hill known as Cobble Hill in the Revolutionary period 
[see Walk No. 14], now absorbed by the Boston and Maine Rail- 
road. 




Hillside trees in Waverley. 



220 WATEETOWN, WAVERLEY, BELMONT. 

The Beaver Brook Eeservation lies on both sides of the road 
(Lexington Street making into Trapello Road, or North Street, to 
Waltham), partly in Waverley (or Belmont) and partly in Waltham, 
the dividing line being the brook. It is the smallest of the several 
public reservations within the country round about Boston, having 
an area of only 58.(51 acres ; but in this small territory is embraced 
much beauty which has inspired poet and artist. "The Oaks" 
comprise the south section, and "The Waterfall" and "The 
Ponds " the north section. We naturally turn first toward " The 
Oaks." 

The main entrance for both carriages and foot-passers is from 
Trapello Road by a pretty, shaded avenue alongside the brook, 
the course of which is marked by a picturesque belt of tree and 
shrub. This leads past two or three of the oaks to an open, upon 
the upper borders of which we find the principal group, occupying 
a beautiful moraine. According to Agassiz, no trees on the West- 
ern Continent have attained greater age than these. They were 
venerable before the first European touched this soil. "They 
might have been standing when Leif and Thorfinn visited Vine- 
land the Good," one writer has observed; "and if the Charles 
River is ' the river which flowed through a lake into the sea,' 
Gudrid, the wife of Thorfinn, may have rested under" their 
branches. However much of fancy there may be in this engaging 
theory, conservative authorities have estimated their age at some- 
where between four hundred and nine hundred years. It has 
been stated that an examination of one which fell some years ago 
indicated that " it had withstood the tempests of more than eight 
hundred years." 

There are in all, within the reservation, twent5'^-six of these 
aged oaks, the most notable, perhaps, being the eight along the 
kame. The largest stands on the northern slope. Its dimensions, 
as given by Dame in his " Trees of New England," are : about 80 
feet in height, 18 feet 7i inches in circumference five feet from the 
ground, enlarging to some 28 feet over the swell of the roots. 
Several of the groups have passed their prime, as was made evi- 
dent, when they were examined by experts for the park com- 
mission, by the gradual dying back of the ends of the leading 
branches, by huge gaping wounds leading into the hollows in the 
trunks in which the wood was rapidly decaying, and by parts of 
dead branches over which they were vainly trying to push a pro- 
tecting cover of healthy Avood and bark. In all of them there 
were many small dead branches. They were accordingly sub- 
jected to careful and skillful treatment under the direction of Mr. 
Warren H. Manning, the arboriculturist, with most satisfactory 



WATERTOWN, W AVE RLE Y, BELMONT. 



221 



results. The dead branches were amputated close to the trunk 
in such a way that the liealing operation could go on with the least 
interruption ; and the wood inside of these cavities exposed by 
amputation, and of other surfaces not covered with healthy bark, 




♦H 



The Oaks. 




was carefully cleaned aiid tarred. Some of the trees required 
over twenty-five hundred cuts to remove all the dead branches 
and decaying wood. 

Besides the great oaks, other trees in this part of the reserva- 
tion are well worth attention, — fine specimens of the elm, the 
ash, maple, sycamore. On the east slope, and at the south end of 
the eschar bearing the principal oaks, we find cedars, pines, and the 
old pasture-plants, — buckthorn, English hawthorn, privet, bar- 
berry. The belt of bushes and trees along the brook, and cover- 
ing the steep bank east of it, continues to the old wall crossing 
the meadow ; and beyond the meadow and the railroad bank is 
another thicket, covering wet land to the point where the brook 
leaves the reservation. In the southeasterly corner a fine growth 
of old oaks, beeches, and maples covers the ridge, extending from 



222 WATERTOWN, WAV ERIE Y, BELMONT. 

the railroad bank to the brook. Mr. Manning, in his "Notes on 
the Vegetation of the Reservations " (Repoi't of the Board of 
Metropolitan Park Commissioners, 1895), observes that here the 
old pasture-plants are more highly developed than in any other 
reservation. The buckthorns have been growing so long that 
they have become trees. Some of the clumps of privet and bar- 
berry are quite old. The English hawthorn, abundant and hardj^ 
appearing with these introduced plants, has not gained a foothold 
in the old pastures of the other reservations. 




'A^ 



The Brook. 



The regular entrance to the upper or northern section of the 
reservation is fi-om Mill Street up the hill, as the guide-board 
on the street corner points, " To the Waterfall." But if we con- 
tinue farther along Trapello Road a few steps to the watering- 
trough, we may here enter at the western end, and, bearing to the 
right of the reservation buildings, reach the brook-side, which can 
be followed up to the " Cascade," or the Waterfall, as it is now 



WATERTOWN, WAVEELEY, BELMONT. 223 

called. It is a walk over wet bottom-lands, a scramble througli 
thickets, tangled vines, and along a rocky way, but exhilarating 
and full of beauty. In "dry times," when the brook is but a 
gentle stream "trickling softly down," one may take the bed 
quite up to the foot of the cascade. From the side cliff by the 
cascade, at the right, a narrow path leads around to the main path, 
which passes by the first pond and across the bridge, from which 
we may look down to the waterfall. Here was once, " beneath a 
bony buttonwood," the little mill which sent up "its busy, never- 
ceasing burr." This was an ancient mill-race, the first mill hav- 
ing been built in its neighborhood in 16G2 or 1(363 for fulling cloth. 
The old wall at the foot of the cascade is part of that into which 
the last mill here was built, — a satinet factory, — a remnant of 
which remained until 1876. Some local authorities think that 
this stood on the site of the first one. The two ponds, and the 
wet bottom along the brook below, occupy a considerable part of 
this section of the reservation. Of the vegetation, Mr. Manning 
calls attention to the ferns and flowering plants in the thickets on 
the wet bottom-lands ; the scattered groups of cedars and of white 
and pitch pine along the rocky knolls to the northwest ; the 
patches of hay-fields on the viplands ; and the thickets of bush 
and tree, both young and old, filling the wet valleys toward the 
upper end. The territory embraced in the two sections of this 
reservation Mr. Manning regards as the " most interesting ex- 
ample of an ancient and long-cultivated ground that the Commis- 
sion controls." It should be remarked that on the map the brook 
is called " Clematis Brook ; " this is the local appellation, but the 
Commissioners have wisely held to the old name, thus perpetu- 
ating Lowell's "sweet Beaver." 

This reservation was established in 1893. The Commissioners, in their re- 
port for that year, remark that their " action was greatly facilitated by the 
liberality of the widow of the late Elisha Atkins, of Belmont, and her son, 
the present Edwin F. Atkins, who contributed the large sum of S12,500, more 
than half its entire cost, toward the preservation of this most interesting 
locality." 

Walh b. From Waverley through Belmont. Starting from the 
Beaver Brook Reservation, the short way to Belmont Town House, 
in the central village, is by Pleasant Street, just below the foot of 
Mill Street. It is, too, a pleasant way, for a good part being 
alongside of the richly-wooded ridge over which the beautiful 
McLean Asylum grounds extend, with the jiieturesque valley on 
the other side through which the railroads run ; but the longer 
way, by Mill Street and Concord Turnpike (avenue, now called) to 
the north, is the pleasanter. Let us, then, take the latter. 

Upon leaving the upper end of the reservation, by a path from 



224 WATERTOWN, WAVERLEY, BELMONT. 

the ponds, and emerging on the street, we turn to the left, up- 
road, instead of to the right. A few steps beyond bring us to 
the main entrance to the Asylum grounds, on the right side of 
the road, through which we have a fuller glimpse of the beautiful 
domain than at other points along the way. These grounds and 
buildings are the objects of the greatest interest in Belmont. No 
more notable collection of structures in different styles of fine 
modern architecture than these are to be found in Massachusetts. 
They are superb in every way, — in interior arrangement, fittings, 
and finish, as well as in exterior beauty, — and the grounds are as 
attractive as the buildings. Onward the way continues over high 
ground, and soon an expanding view opens on the left which keeps 
company with us for the remainder of the short walk to the Con- 
cord Avenue junction. Here Mill Street ends, and we take the 
right turn eastward into the avenue, which we rejoice to find is 
yet no avenue of fine fashion, but remains a country road with 
grassy sides, mounting Wellington Hill in easy grade through 
lines of roadside bush and tree. Just before reaching the grounds 
of the Highland Stock Farm on the brow of the hill, we get from 
the road, looking off to the southwest, the most interesting and 
far-reaching view from any point in Belmont, covering the valley 
of the Charles River for miles, and taking in Monadnock and 
Wachusett in the distance. By the side of the " speeding-course " 
of the Stock Farm, at the left, we observe a road opening invit- 
ingly, with grassy surface, indicating an abandoned way, and 
vista of pleasant country. We may safely gratify the temptation 
to explore it, for it early curves in the direction in which we are 
going, and ultimately makes connection with Concord Avenue 
by a narrow lane some distance down. By taking it we indeed 
miss passing the fronts of several handsome estates farther along 
on the avenue (among them the Atkins places — those of the late 
Mr. Elisha Atkins, director of the Union Pacific Railroad, and 
his son, Mr. Edwin F. Atkins — and the Clarke estate, afterward 
owned by Mr. Charles Fairchild, of Boston, upon which Mr. Wil- 
liam D. HoweUs lived for a while) ; but we enjoy, what is more to 
our fancy if we love the turf, a stroll through one of the most de- 
lightsome of lanes, apparently remote from the town, albeit within 
hailing distance of things urban. For half a mile and more, the 
mossy way rambles on through tangled trees, vines, shrubs, and 
flowers in wild luxuriance ; then from lane it becomes a nar- 
row road, and then a conventional street, whence the connecting 
lane back to the avenue shortly opens on the right and makes its 
path along the ridge upon the slopes of which the central village 
lies. From start almost to finish, the old road wanders by fertile 



WATERTOWN, WAVERLEY, BELMONT. 225 

fields (on the right side, for some distance, the rear of the Edwin 
F. Atkins estate), and from its heights are fair prospects across to 
the hills of Arlington ; while from the connecting lane, as it enters 
the avenue, we have a splendid view over the valley to town and 
city beyond. 



vv<^ 







Brook near Concord Avenue. 

At this point Concord Avenue makes a sharp turn southward, 
and then a sharper turn eastward, down the steep declivity across 
Pleasant Street to the railroads in the valley, and thence on 
through the length of Belmont into Cambridge, past the Fresh 
Pond Drive, and finishing at the Colleges. The chief ornament of 
the central village is the Town House and Public Library at the 
foot of Wellington Hill, on the northerly corner of Concord Ave- 
nue and Pleasant Street, a brick and terra-cotta structure, of the 
so-called Queen Anne style of architecture. When it was com- 
pleted in 1882 it took rank among the finer buildings of its class 
in the suburbs of Boston, notably those designed by Richardson 



226 WATEETOWN, W AVE RLE Y, BELMONT. 

for Woburn and Maiden, though less elaborate or rich in exterior 
decoration. 

This building was the design of Hartwell & Richardson, architects, of Bos- 
ton. The main entrance, under the broad, deeply-recessed arch, leads to the 
various town oflSces and the public hall above, an ample assembly-room with 
galleries, broad lobby, and ante-rooms ; while the side entrance on the same 
front admits to the section of the building occupied by the Public Library. 




Belmont Town House and Library. 

The latter is complete in its appointments, having all the requirements of the 
modern library, and an especially fine reading-room occupying the southern 
corner with alcove in the circular tower. The lot which constitutes the Town 
House and Library grounds, containing upward of 40,000 square feet, was pre- 
sented to the town by the late Elisha Atkins. The cost of the structure was 
about $50,000. 

The Belmont Public Library was established in 1868, largely through the 
efforts of Mr. David Mack, who became the first librarian. It began with 
about 800 volumes, 118 of them from the library of the Farmers' Club, a local 
institution of long standing. At the close of the second year, the number of 
volumes had more than doubled. The present number is about 8,000. Mr. 
Edward W. Brown is now tlie librarian. The reading-room is open every 
week-day and a part of Sunday. 

On Pleasant Street, just below the Town House and Librarj% on 
the opposite side, is the house in which David Mack long lived. 
He was one of the early Brook Farmers, and warmly interested in 
the fortunes of that most interesting and unpractical of socialistic 
ventures. [See Walk No. 36.] Later this house was occupied for 
a short time by George Fuller, the artist. Adjoining this estate, 
and facing the abandoned part of the turnpike, — at the right as 
we descend the hill, just above the Town Hall, which ran into the 
turnpike about an eighth of a mile westward, — is the house of 
Mrs. Abby Morton Diaz, the writer for young folk. The old-fash- 
ioned house against which the Town House and Library grounds 



WATEETO WN, WA VERLE Y, BELMONT. 227 

back, was for long years the homestead of the late Eleazer Homer, 
and note is made by the historian of the town of a specimen of 
the rare mountain laurel which used to adorn its front yard. 

Crossing the railroads, let us stroll farther along Concord Avenue 
toward Belmont Park, a few rods past the stations, taking a look 
at the Unitarian Church, picturesquely set, — a building of field- 
stone, with gable and tower of plaster over wood (built in 1889, 
Hartwell & Richardson, architects), — and then, coming back, 
turn into Common Street, which branches off southward. \Ye are 
in a park-like quarter of broad estates spreading over the undu- 
lating ground. Common Street leads to Watertown, two and a 
half miles distant. Opening most attractively, it so continues 
almost its entire length to Mount Auburn Street, and the site of 
the meeting-house in which the Provincial Congress sat. The 
estates at the turn from Concord Avenue into Common Street are 
among the older places of this section of the town. That extend- 
ing for some distance up the road, originally the S. 0. Mead place, 
is now occupied by three families of Underwoods, whose property 
runs to the corner of Common Street. Farther along Common 
Street, on the right, we come upon an ancient house, set on a slight 
knoll with stone-walled bank, and an aged tree, whose spreading 
branches shade the front, which lends the scene a pleasing touch. 
This old homestead was standing at the time of the Revolution, 
and on the morning of the historic Nineteenth of April its owner, 
Peter Clark, had all his household goods packed on a wagon ready 
for quick removal in case the British troops should go by the 
turnpike on their way to Concord. Just beyond, the road bends 
gracefully to the right, and so it curves as it goes on. Not far 
above the ancient house, the crossing thoroughfares of Waverley 
Street to Waverley at the right (one mile), and School Street to 
Mount Auburn at the left (two miles), start out. Now our road 
gradually ascends a hill, and from the highland, looking back, we 
have fair views to the spires of Arlington above the trees. We 
pass more broad estates. One, on the right, combines a little 
grove, with distant bit of pond, the mansion house above, with 
side garden of flowers of brilliant hue and roadside hedge. On 
this estate we note the water-tower, boxed in with ornamental 
frame. Here, close to the sidewalk, plump squirrels dart across 
the turf from tree to tree. A few rods beyond we have a fine 
view, over the orchard in the little valley on the right, of the line 
of Waverley hills. Soon, close upon another bend to the right, our 
road makes a sharp turn to the left, by the market-garden with 
the wooden tower, which has been before us for some distance, 
looking like an elongated powder-house. Here Washington Street, 



228 WATEETOWN, WAVERLEY, BELMONT. 

an ancient road, makes off to the left, toward the summit of 
Pequossett Hill, then down to the Fresh Pond valley. Shortly we 
pass a couple of interesting old houses in the midst of farms, one, 
on the right, screened from the road by thick shrubbery ; the 
other, on the left, a little way above. We are in a region of high- 
land market-gardens, closely cultivated. Over to the right we 
have the richest view of all across to the " delectable " hills. 

At the approach to its junction with North Street, our road 
passes, on the left, the back of the old Cushing-Payson estate, 
the original "Belmont" which gave the town its name; and on 
the opposite side a late eighteenth-century house close to the road 
line. Of the former we shall see more from Belmont Street, on 
which it fronts. North Street is the highway through Waverley 
to Waltham, in which is absorbed the ancient Trapello Road be- 
tween the two sections of the Beaver Brook Reservation. Cross- 
ing North Street, we soon reach Belmont Street, where we are 
to leave Common Street. At this point the sign-posts inform us 
that we are three and a half miles from Waltham in one direction, 
and one and a quarter from Mount Auburn in the other direction, 
— that in which we are going, to the left of Common Street. At 
the North Street junction we had covered one mile from Belmont 
central village. Before starting down Belmont Street, we should 
turn and take another look over to Waverley Hills, crowned with 
the McLean Asylum buildings, the tops of which appear in clear 
outline. 

We enter Belmont Street at its pleasantest part. On the right 
lies Meeting-house Hill (220 feet at its highest point), over a corner 
of which Common Street continues to Watertown. On either side 
the estates spread back over picturesque grounds. For a short 
distance North Street, over at the left, narrowing into a lane-like 
way, runs nearly parallel with our statelier thoroughfare, finally 
joining it by the Cushing-Payson estate. Almost imperceptibly 
Belmont Street now widens and becomes the beautiful avenue, 
with lines of noble trees set behind the stone walls bounding the 
estates on either side, and casting their refreshing shade over the 
sidewalks. On the right, great lawns sweep up to distant mansion 
houses; on the left is the Cushing-Payson place, yet beautiful, 
though shorn of its glory by the cutting off of large portions for 
modern house-lots and the development of the residential quarter, 
to which the name of Payson Park has most appropriately been 
given. In its prime, this place embraced upward of a hundred 
acres about the mansion house, and "furnished the best exam- 
ple of an American residence upon English models to be found in 
this part of the country." [Thomas W. Davis.] In front of the 



WATERTOWN, WAVERLEY, BELMONT. 229 

mansion house, itself a copy of an English country-seat (erected in 
1830), the undulating lawn spread over thirty acres ; the side drive- 
way was lined with lofty elms ; back of the house was a great 
flower-garden with greenhouses and conservatory, and farther up 
the hillside a deer park. 

John P. Gushing, who built the mansion house and thus developed the 
estate, had made a fortune in China. He died in 1SG2, and then the place was 
purchased by Samuel R. Payson, a Boston merchant, who occupied it for a 
quarter of a century, maintaining it in the style of its first owner. 

The estate on the opposite side of the way, embracing about one 
hundred and fifty acres, was long the country-seat of the late Alvin 
Adams, the founder of Adams' Express. This also in its day was 
renowned for its tasteful embellishment. In the large conservato- 
ries rare flowers and fruits were cultivated, and its noble lawn was 
the pride of the place. Fine stock broAvsed in the fields far back 
from the roadway, and the Adams herds were famous. The first 
mansion house (the present one is the second, the first having been 
burned), occupying the distant swell of land toward which the lawn 
sweeps majestically, had a castle-like air, with its long front and 
tower, as seen from the road through the vista of stately trees. A 
fine picture-gallery was once a feature of this house, generously 
thrown open to the public. Behind the house was a lovely grove, 
spreading over the highland, a remnant of which yet remains. 

Payson Road, opening invitingly on the left, in frame of shrub- 
bery and hedge, passes by the side of the Cushing-Payson place 
and leads to Payson Park on the summit of the hill ; Pequossett 
Hill this is. We must take it, both for its charm as a walk and 
for the views it affords. Very soon, as we mount, there spreads 
out on the right a broadening picture of Cambridge and connecting 
municipalities, with Fresh Pond glinting in the foreground ; while 
on the other side we have the hedge line of the Payson place, 
through which we get a near view of the stately mansion house. 
The road makes a sharp ascent and curves toward the summit, 
where now, in place of the deer park and the little forest which 
once were here, is the Cambridge Reservoir. The proper thing 
is to take the view from the Observatory here, — a brownstone 
structure quite elaborate in design. A panorama of wide extent 
greets the eye from this as well as other points on the hill-top, em- 
bracing a generous part of the circuit of surrounding countrj^ 

Instead of returning to Belmont Street by the way we came, we 
might take the old country road at the fork, as we descend, mak- 
ing off with a curve to the left. It will take us across to School 
Street, by which Belmont Street is reached at a point perhaijs a 
quarter of a mile below Payson Road. It is a trifle rugged, this 



230 WATERTOWX, WAVEBLEY, BELMONT. 

old road, but its uueveuness we shall not nnnd while we walk 
toward the Fresh Poud valley, and iu view of the sp;u'kliug pond 
itself, a little on the left of tis. At the end of the road in School 
Street, we take the right tnm and so shortly rejoin Belmont 
Street. School Street here appears to stop, but we observe that, 
from the grassy triangle just above, it makes a fresh start, and 
wends its way by pleasant places across to Mt. Auburn Street and 
beyond, making a final finish at Arsenal Street, near the river. 
The estate on the north side of Belmont Street, extending from the 
Payson Koad. is the Hittinger estate, originally the seat of the late 
Jacob Hittinger. one of the founders of the American ice business. 
We take the left turn from School Street into Belmont Street 
and. after passing Grove Street, strike the beginning of our Walk a. 
Passing again within sight of the chain-fence bounds of the 
"Amphitheatre." across the vegetable patch on the left, and on 
the opposite side the remnant of the ancient Bird Tavern dn 
Revolutionary days Richardson's Tavern, one of the places in 
which the cannon and intrenching tools of the Provincials were 
concealed, and which stood originally at the intersection of this 
and the Watertown road i. we are soon at the bridge by Mt. Auburn, 
and at the end of our walk. We may return either by steam car 
from Mt. Auburn Station [Fitch.], or by electric car coming from 
Watertown or Xewton. 



Cambridge. 



From Boston to Cambridge by electric car, over Harvard Bridge, 3 miles ; 
fare, 5 cents. 

Walk No. 30. From the Cambridge City Hall by a loop to the college 
grounds, passing the " Rindge buildings;" by old landmarks; through the 
College Yard ; up Divinity Avenue and around the various imiversity build- 
ings outside the Yard ; over the Common and its historic neighborhood ; by 
RadclifiEe College; along elm-shaded Brattle Street, old '"Tory Row;" by 
Mt. Auburn ; over a stretch of river-side ; across to Soldiers Field. 

What is now Old Cambridge was selected before Boston for the seat of gov- 
ernment by the Winthrop company, the leaders seeking an inland position as 
" more easily defensible against the enemy from whom the most was to be 
feared, — not the Indians, but the warships of King Charles."' [John Fiske.] 
They chose this spot for a fortified town on December 2S, 163(i, two months 
after the naming of Boston, and it was agreed that they should build their 
houses here and remove the ordnance and munitions thither. This agree- 
ment, however, was not carried out. Winthrop. after starting his house early 
in 1631, removed its frame to Boston ; but Dudley, with Simon Bradstreet, 
his son-in-law, and some others, remained. Dudley, therefore, is called the 
founder of Cambridge. The settlement, first known as the Newe Towne, came 
to be called Cambridge after its selection in 1637 as the seat of the College, 
and in 163S this name was formally adopted by order of the General Court. 
It was taken in honor of the English university town, where most of the min- 
isters then in the colony had been reared. In 1G32 a stockade of trees, with 
a fosse, was built around HXK) acres of the Xewe Towne, and the imposition 
by the Court of Assistants of a tax upon the several plantations to meet the 
expense of this •' pallysadoe," '• furnished the occasion for the first great asser- 
tion of the principles of constitutional law and free government in New Eng- 
land."' [Fiske.] This assertion was made by the men of Watertown who 
refused to pay their share of the tax because they were not represented in the 
body imposing it. and a result of the discussion which followed was the erec- 
tion of the House of Deputies, representing every town, which sat with the 
assistants as the GeneraJ Court. The first considerable body of settlers in 
the Xewe Towne consisted of the Rev. Thomas Hooker and his congregation 
from Braintree. England, who came in the summer of 1C32. Four years later, 
however, wantmg •■ more room,"' and perhaps not content with the policy of 
the Bay Colony in restricting the suffrage to Congregational church members, 
they moved away through the wilderness to Connecticut. Shortly before 
their departure the Rev. Thomas Shepard arrived with his congregation and 
started the settlement anew. The territory of the Newe Towne was repeat- 
edly enlarged by grants to meet the complaints of insufficient land untU, by 
1G55, it included the present Brighton District of Boston. Newton. Arlington, 
Lexington, and parts of Bedford and BiUerica. Cambridge is distinguished 
as the place where the first printing press in the country was set up. as well 
as the birthplace or home of notable groups of American men of letters and 
scientists, centred about the first American college. It became a city in 1846. 
It is locally divided into four sections : East Cambridge, where are the Mid- 
dlesex County Courts ; Cambridgeiwrt (so called after 1S05, when Cambridge 
was made a port of entry) ; Old Cambridge, and Xorth Cambridge. 

Our walk is so planned as to cover the most interesting histori- 
cal and literary attractions of Cambridge in one trip. It will be a 
pleasant walk, but as a whole a walk more urban than rural. For 
Cambridge long since ceased to be a '' great academic grove buried 
in a philosophie calm/" and in its development from the tranquil 
college town to the university city, while gaining in magnitude 
and impressiveness, it lost, with its air of "'classic repose,'" the 



232 CAMBRIDGE. 

rural aspect it wore in the old village days, or of Lowell's " Cam- 
bridge Thirty Years Ago." 

The best way out is by electric ear, marked Harvard Bridge, 
which follows Massachusetts Avenue, and brings up at Harvard 
Square by the colleges. There is little, now, of interest in the 
" Port," through which the car passes, save, perhaps, the shell of 
Washington AUston's studio. This little building is on Magazine 
Street, some distance from the car line. Its value as a "land- 
mark," however, is slight, for it is removed from its original site 
and much changed. At the foot of Brookline Street, the first 
street at the left, into which branch tracks turn, is the famous 
shop on the river shore of Alvan Clark & Sons, where their great 
telescopes are made. Through Pearl Sti*eet, the next above Brook- 
line Street, the Riverside Pi'ess, also on the river shore, is reached ; 
the more direct way to this great printing house, however, is from 
Central Square beyond, by River Street or Western Avenue. 
Magazine Street is next above Pearl, and runs to the river. 

We step off the car at the City Hall, where our walk begins in 
order to pass the several " Rindge gifts " to the city of Cambridge. 
This City Hall, of quarry-faced stone, is one of these gifts. Others 
are the Public Library building and the Manual Training School, 
a third of a mile westward on Broadway. They were given by 
Frederick H. Rindge, a native of Cambridge, and upon simple 
conditions, mainly that they should bear certain inscriptions pro- 
vided by the donor. His inscrijition for the City Hall, built in 
1889-90, which aj^pears in the front over the main entrance, reads : 
" God has given commandments unto men. From these com- 
mandments men have framed laws by which to be governed. It 
is honorable and praiseworthy faithfully to serve the people by 
helping to administer these laws. If the laws are not enforced the 
people are not well governed." The building stands, as we see, in 
a fair-sized lot, back from the street, approached through sliglitly 
terraced grounds. Thus its handsome facade, with the well- 
designed pointed clock-tower, is displayed to advantage. It has a 
recessed court at the back. The interior arrangement is excel- 
lent, and the finish in good taste [Longfellow, Alden & Harlow, 
architects] . 

To reach the other Rindge buildings, we take Inman Street, at 
the right of the City Hall, cross Harvard Street, and turn into 
Broadway, at the left. So we pass, on Inman Street, a few steps 
from Main Street, west side, the tablet marking the site of General 
Putnam's headquarters during the siege of Boston. 

The house which the general and his wife occupied was the Inman mansion- 
house, at that time on the Inman farm, spreading over several acres, which 



CAMBRIDGE. 233 

belonged to Ralph Inman, a refugee loyalist. It was a house three stories 
high, of large size and proportions, finely situated, and commanding an open 
view of Boston. Inman left it with all its costly furnishings, and with horses 
and equipages in the stables. These Putnam considered a part of the head- 
quarters appendages, and Madam Putnam enjoyed her airings in the family 
coach. 

Putnam's battery was a mile or two off, on Lechmere Point, now East Cam- 
bridge. Its site is marked by a tablet in the wall of the Putnam school-house, 
on the corner of Otis and Fourth streets, near the Court House. It was from 
this fort that the ball was fired which hit the old Brattle Square meeting- 
house in Boston. 

The Public Library stands in a park, the Public Library Com- 
mon, next above the High School building-, the site for which was 
also given by Mr. Rindge. The Librarj' building, with its grounds, 
including one hundred and fifteen thousand feet, was the first of 
the Rindge gifts. It was built in 1888-89 [Van Brunt & Howe, 
architects]. Its style is described as a modified Romanesque of 
southern France. The beauty of the design, a low, long stone 
building, with finely arched end entrance by a round tower, and 
the richness of the exterior embellishment, give it a rank Avith the 
most notable structures of its class in the country about Boston. 
In the entrance division are the reading-room, finished to the arched 
roof, the I'eferenee library, and the memorial rooms, while the fire- 
proof "stacks" are in the other portion. The inscriptions pro- 
vided by Mr. Rindge for this building, are : " Built in gratitude to 
God, to his son, Jesus Christ, and to the Holy Spirit ; " the ten 
commandments and " Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thJ^self ; " 
"Men, women, children, obey these laws. If you do, you will be 
happy ; if you disobey them sorrow will come upon you ; " " It is 
noble to be pure ; it is right to be honest ; it is necessary to be 
temperate ; it is wise to be industrious ; but to know God is best 
of all." 

This library had its origin in the Cambridge Athenaeum, incorporated in 
1849, for the establishment of a lyceum, public library, reading-room, and 
lectures on scientific and literary subjects. In 1858 the Athenseum library 
was transferred to the city. It was made free to the public in 1874. Under 
the city's administration it was first called the Dana Library, in recognition 
of Edmund T. Dana, a benefactor of the institution, and became the Cam- 
bridge Public Library in 1879. It is now opened on Sunday afternoons, as 
well as on week days and evenings. It contains about 30,000 volumes. 

The Manual Training School is the next neighbor of the Public 
Library, comprising a main building with large wings designed in 
the Romanesque style [Rotch & Tilden, Boston, architects]. Mr. 
Rindge's inscription is here seen over the entrance : " Work is one 
of the gi'eatest blessings ; every one should have an honest occupa- 
tion." The interior is thoroughly equipped for training boys and 
youth in all branches of the mechanic arts, including carpentry 



234 CAMBRIDGE. 

and joining, blacksmithing, wood - turning- and pattern-making, 
iron-fitting, machine-shop practice, and mechanical drawing. The 
school has been supported wholly by Mr. Rindge since its founda- 
tion. Mr. Rindge's gifts have reached a total value of a million 
dollars. 

We turn from Broadway, taking Ware Street, at the left, to 
Harvard Street, whence, to the right, we approach the colleges. 
At the entrance to Quincy Square, where Harvard Street and 
Massachusetts Avenue meet, are Quincy Hall, on the right, and 
Beck Hall, on the left, two of the numerous private dormitories 
for students ; that is, dormitories outside the college grounds, not 
owned by the University. 

Quincy Street, opening at the right, marks the western bound 
of the College Yard. On this street the President's house faces. 
The corner place, on the yard side, was originally the Dana man- 
sion-house, built in 1823, by the family of Chief Justice Francis 
Dana. It was for some time occupied by Professor Felton, and in 
later years was the home of the Rev. Dr. Andrew P. Peabody, 
the long-time preacher to the university, of fragrant memory. In 
this house the first Harvai'd astronomical observatory was estab- 
lished in 1839, when a revolving dome was erected on the cupola 
for the telescope. Astronomical work was regularly done here 
under William Crancli Bond, as " Astronomical Observer to the 
University," until 1844, when the present observatory farther out, 
on Craigie HiU, was built. The President's house is the next 
above the Dana house, seen through the trees, as we pass along 
the avenue. Nearly opposite the President's house, oh Quincy 
Street, is the Colonial Club house, refashioned from the dwelling 
of the late Professor Henry James, father of Heniy James, the 
essayist. Above, on the southeast corner of Quincy Street and 
Broadway, is the Agassiz house, where the eminent Louis Agassiz 
lived the latter part of his years in Cambridge, — a large, plain, 
square, many-windowed structure, suggesting a roomy and light 
interior. This house was built for Professor Agassiz by the Col- 
lege. Here his famous school for young women was kept from 
1855 to 18G3. On the southeast corner of Kirkland Street, where 
Quincy Street ends, is the old house of President Jared Sparks, 
now, with the adjoining estate, occupied by the New-Church The- 
ological School, its pleasant grounds extending from Cambridge to 
Kirkland streets. 

The entrances to the College Yard from Massachusetts Avenue 
are a few rods above Quincy Square, under the shade of the trees, 
within the yard, if we keep close to the right side. Once the 
street was lined with splendid elms, until one day all were sacri- 



CAMBRIDGE. 235 

ficed by order of the city rulers, to permit the laying of the asphalt 
paving. The first foot-path leads toward the President's house. 
The entrance beyond is the carriage-way and broad walk curving 
by the Library, Sever Hall, and Appleton Chapel. The foot-paths 
above lead direct to the Quadrangle. The older parts of the 
grounds are at the turn of the avenue by Harvard Square. Boyl- 
ston Hall, near the sidewalk, by which the first paths to the Quad- 
rangle pass, covers the site of the homestead of the early ministers, 
Hooker, Shepard, and Mitchell ; also the spot where afterward 
dwelt President Leverett and the Professors Wigglesworth, father 
and son, as inscribed on the side wall toward the street : — 

Here was the liomestead of 
Thomas Hooker 
1G33-36 
First pastor at Newtowne. 

Thomas Shepard 1G36-49 
Jonathan Mitcliell 1G50-G8 
First and second ministers 
Of the first church of Cambridge 

John Leverett 1G9G-1734 
President of Harvard College 
Edward Wigglesworth 172C-G8 
First HoUis Professor of Divinity 

and 
Edward Wigglesworth 17G5-0-4 
Second Hollis Professor of Divinity. 

The homestead was granted to Hooker in the first allotment of 
lands. Shepard took it upon Hooker's departure for Connecticut, 
and it fell to Mitchell through his marriage to Margaret, Shepard 's 
widow. 

The Wadsworth House, most interesting and picturesque of land- 
marks on this side of the yard, — broad and deep, with gambrel 
roof, dormer windows, early colonial style of finish, embellished 
entrance jiorch at the sidewalk edge, — dates from 172(5. It was 
built, at the joint expense of the colonial government and the col- 
lege cori^oration, for President Benjamin Wadsworth, and was the 
official dwelling of successive presidents for upward of a century. 
The royal governors made it their headquai'ters on Commencement 
celebrations during provincial times ; distinguished men were its 
frequent guests ; and it was the first house assigned by the Pro- 
vincial Congress for the headquarters of Washington. The room in 
the rear of the old drawing-room was the president's study " until 
the presidency of Webber, when the end of the house was added 
with a kitchen and chamber and dressing-room. . . . The brick 
building was built at the same time for the president's study and 
freshman's room beneath it, and for the presei'vation of the Col- 



236 



CAMBRIDGE. 



lege MSS." [Eliza Susan Quincy.] The ancient house is now 
employed as a dormitory, while in the extensions is the bursar's 
office. 



K/, VV' 




Wadsworth House. 

The original " Newe Towne " lay in the narrow quarter on the 
south side of this part of the present avenue, between Harvard 
Square and the river, from Holyoke Street (nearly opposite the 
Wadsworth House), on the east, to Brattle Square, on the west, — 
a worn quarter now, but with some quaint old houses jumbled with 
all sorts of structures, which give it picturesque touches. Thomas 
Dudley's house, possibly the first one finished in '' Newe Towne " 
(1631), and evidently the finest, for Winthrop chided the deputy 
governor for his extravagance, in embellishing it with a wain- 
scot of clapboards, was on Dunster Street, the next street above 
Holyoke, at the corner of South Street. The first meeting-house 
(1632) was also on Dunster Street, at the corner of Mt. Auburn 
Street. Samuel Bradstreet's house (1631) was on Harvard Square, 
at about the corner of Boylston Street. The house of Henry Dun- 
ster (first president of the College), in which the first printing press 
in America was set up (1639), is supposed to have been on groimd 
now covered by Massachusetts Hall in the College Yard. The first 
school-house (16-18), built of stone and paid for in " wheat, rye, 
corn, and pease, the current rate," was on Holyoke Street. These 
sites, with the exception of the places of the Bradstreet and Dun- 
ster houses, are duly marked by tablets. 

The College Yard is that portion of the university grounds which 
is inclosed between INIassachusetts Avenue, Peabody Street on the 
west, Broadway on the north, and Quincy Street on the east. The 
entire territory owned by the university within the limits of Cam- 



CAMBRIDGE. 



237 



bridge covers eighty-two and a third acres, — land enough, as Pres- 
ident Eliot has said, "to make it certain that the setting of the 
university buildings will be an open one for many generations to 
come. . . . They will continue to be surrounded bj" grass and ti'ees, 
even though the number of students in Cambridge should be nml- 
tiplied by three, four or five in the generations to come." 

Entering the yard by the upper path, that nearest to Harvard 
Square, with Wadsworth House on our right and Dane Hall on our 
left, we have the pleasantest approach to the elm-shaded Quad- 
rangle. Dane Hall is the old Law School building (built in 1832, 




The Quadrangle. 

enlarged in 1845), occupied by the school until the erection of Aus- 
tin Hall, outside the yard. It was named for the distinguished 
jurist and statesman, Judge Nathan Dane, of Beverly, who founded 
the Dane Professorship of Law, first held by Judge Joseph Story. 
The building is now used by the Harvard Cooperative Society, a 
volimtary association of ofificers and students, which supplies niem- 
bers of the University with books, stationer's materials, and vari- 
ous other goods. We come upon the Quadrangle, with the Gothic 
Matthews Hall at the left, and plainer Gray's Hall at the right. 
Gray's forms the south side of the Quadrangle ; Weld, L^niversity, 
and Thayer halls, the east side ; Holworthy, the north ; and 
Stoughton, HoUis, and Matthews, the west side. Boj^lston Hall 
is back of Gray's. Gore Hall, or the Library, the President's 
House, Sever Hall, Appleton Chapel, and the Fogg Museum of 
Art spread over the east side of the yard. The North Gate, on 



238 CAMBRIDGE. 

Broadway, is just above Thayer. The West Gate, on Peahody 
Street, is at the original main entrance, which leads to the Quad- 
rangle between Matthews and Hollis. Harvard and Massachu- 
setts Halls, on either side of this entrance, face the earlier College 
Green. Massachusetts is the oldest hall now standing in the yard. 
The Class Day Tree is back of Harvard in the small quadrangle, 
three sides of which are formed by Harvard, Hollis, and old 
Holden Chapel. 

Gray's is believed to cover the site of the first college building, 
set up in 1638-42, — the small, rudely constructed wooden house, 
of two stories, with calked and daubed walls, gambrel roof, dor- 
mer windows, projecting turret and belfry [A. McF. Davis, " The 
First College Building"], which served all purposes of the College 
vipward of thirty years, and in 1677 fell to pieces. Matthews is 
over the site of the second building, the "Indian College," built 
in 1654, for the training of Indian youth, only two or three of whom 
tried the college course, entering from the grammar school, while 
but one managed to attain the degree, and he died of quick con- 
sumption shortly after. During the greater part of its life of 
forty-four years, the "Indian College" was used principally as a 
dormitory for white students. The second printing press in the 
country, also controlled, as was the first, by President Dunster, 
was set up in this little bviilding, and here Eliot's Indian Bible 
was printed. It was a brick structure, only 20 feet by 30 feet, of 
two stories. Harvard Hall stands on the site of the first Harvard 
Hall, the first substantial college building, begun in 1672, and 
nearly finished when the old one collapsed. It was a long building 
of brick, two stories high, with gambrel roof and dormer windows. 
Edward Randolph described it in 1076 as the " New College," 
with "twenty chambers for students, two studies in a chamber, a 
large hall which serves as chapel, one that is a convenient library, 
with some few books of the ancient fathers and school divines." 
Its cost was met from a fund of £1890, contributed by the several 
towns of the Colony. 

This and the decaying Indian College constituted the college 
buildings until the year 1700, when the first Stoughton Hall, the 
first distinct dormitory, a gift from Chief Justice Stoughton, was 
erected. The new hall was placed slightly back from and at right 
angles with Harvard, stretching from its eastern end across the 
Green. It was also of brick (the bricks from the Indian CoUege 
went into the frame), fashioned after the style of Harvard Hall, 
and bore on its front the name of the witchcraft judge. A fac- 
simile of it is seen in the background of the familiar portrait of 
Stoughton, in Memorial Hall, In 1719-20 Massachusetts was built, 



CAMBRIDGE. 239 

so that the three dignified structures formed three sides of the 
Green, Harvard and Massachusetts, as now. presenting their ends 
to the roadway. Then in 17G2-G3 appeared HoUis, the third dor- 
mitory, north of Harvard, a larger and more ambitious structure. 
In the fire of January, 17G4, which destroyed the first Harvard 
with its precious contents (including the philosophical apparatus, 
and John Harvard's library, of which but one volume Avas saved, 
this one happening to be out in the hands of a borrower), the other 
buildings barely escaped destruction. They were saved only 
through the exertions of citizens, "members of the General Court, 
and even of the governor himself, who, notwithstanding the ex- 
treme rigor of the season, exerted themselves in supplying the town 
engines with water." The General Court had been occupying the 
burned hall, having been moved temjiorarily to quit Boston be- 
cause of the prevalence of small-pox there. Two days after the 
catastrophe the court adopted a resolve to rebuild at the public 
expense, and the present building was immediately raised. It was 
planned by Governor Bernard, and built under the superintend- 
ence of Thomas Dawes, the architect of Hollis. The tablet on its 
front gives these dates : — 

Harvard Hall. 

Here stood the second collegiate building 

the college built 1672-1677. 

Burnt 1764 while in use by the General Court 

Rebuilt 1764-1766 by the Province. — Altered 

1842. — Enlarged 1870. 

All of these buildings and Holden Chapel (buUt in 1744) were 
used for barracks, the yard for the commissariat, and Wadsworth 
House for officers' quarters, while the American army was sta- 
tioned in Cambridge, after the Lexington and Concord affairs, the 
College removing to Concord. In a chamber in Stoughton the 
press of the " New England Chronicle and Essex Gazette " was set 
up, from which " issued streams of intelligence, and those patri- 
otic songs and tracts, which so preeminently animated the defend- 
ers of American liberty." Washington, upon his last visit to New 
England, in 1789, was formally received in Harvard Hall. 

Massachusetts, one hundred feet long, of three stories, with high 
gambrel roof, ornamented by a balustrade and dormer windows, 
was the most elaborate of the earlier buildings. It was built by 
the Province, in accordance with a resolve of the General Court in 
1718, and cost £3500. In outward appearance it has been little 
changed, but the interior has been radically reconstructed, halls 
now taking the place of students' chambers, used in part for col- 
lege examinations. During its service of a century and a half as 
a dormitory, many men who attained distinction occupied its 



240 CAMBRIDGE. 

rooms. Some of these names are recorded on the bronze tablets 
against the walls in the entry : — 

In their college days here lived 

William Ellery, 1747, signer Declaration of Independence. 
Artemas Ward, 1743, commander Massachusetts forces, 1775. 
Robert Treat Paine, 1751, signer Declaration of Independence. 
WilliaTii Gushing, 1751, chief justice of Massachusetts. 
John Lowell, 1760, chief justice United States Circuit Court. 
Elbridge Gerry, 1762, Vice-President of the United States. 
Francis Dana, 1762, first minister to Russia. 
Theophilus Parsons, 17G9, chief justice of Massachusetts. 
Joseph Story, 1798, justice of Supreme Court of the United States. 
Charles Henry Davis, 1825, admiral of the United States Navy. 
Robert Gould Shaw, 1860, soldier. 

Mather Byles, 1751, clergyman and wit. 

Jeremy Belknap, 1762, clergyman and historian. 

Samuel Gilman, 1811, author of " Fair Harvard." 

James Walker, 1814, president of Harvard College and historian. 

Jared Sparks, 1815, president of Harvard College and historian. 

John C. Palfrey, 1815, professor and historian. 

George Bancroft, 1817, statesman and historian. 

Horatio Greenough, 1825, sculptor. 

Richard Hildreth, 1826, historian. 

Francis Parkman, 1844, historian. 

Phillips Brooks, 1855, bishop of Massachusetts. 

The tablet on the face of the building is thus inscribed : — 

Massachusetts Hall. 



Built by the Province 1720. 

Occupied by 

the American Army 

1775-1776 



Used for students' rooms 
until 1870-71. 

The large wooden tablet surmounted by a pediment on the west 
end was once a sun-dial. The gnomon was removed years ago, 
and the lines and figures have long been obliterated. 

The beautiful West or Main Gate, flanked on each side by a wall 
of massive stone-capped brick piers, with carved emblems [McKim, 
Mead & White, architects], was set up in 1890. It is the result of 
a bequest of Samuel Johnston, of Chicago, a graduate of the Col- 
lege, class of 1855, — who left for this purpose $10,000, which lay 
at interest for a number of years. On the street front, wrought in 
the iron- work of the arch above the central portal, appears the 
cross. On the pillars on either side are carved the seals of the 
Commonwealth and the College, and on tablets set in the walls 
are cut the following facts of history. 

In the south wall this extract from " New England's First Fruits 
in Respect of the Progress of Learning in the College at Cambridge 



CAMBRIDGE. 



241 




// 

The Harvard Gate. 

in Massachusetts Bay," the pamphlet pubHshed in London, in 
1G43, g^iving the earliest account of the founding of Harvard : — 

After God had carried us safe to New England 

and wee had builded our liouses 

provided necessaries for our livili hood 

reared convenient places for God's worship 

and settled the civill government 

one of the next things we longed for 

and looked after was to advance learning 

and perpetuate it to posterity 

dreading to leave an illiterate ministery 

to the churches when our piesent ministers 

shall lie in the dust. 

In the north wall : — 

By the General Court of Massachusetts Bay 

28 October 1636, Agreed to give 400 & 

towards a schole or colledge whearof 200 £ 

to be paid next yeare & 200 £ 

when the worke is finished & the next Court 

to appoint wheare & w' bvilding 

15 November 1037. The Colledge is ordered 

to bee at Newe Towne 

2 May 1038 It is ordered that Newe Towne 

Shall henceforward be called Cambridge 

15 March 1038- 9 It is ordered that the colledge 

Agreed vpou formerly to bee built at Cambridge 

Shallbee called Harvard Colledge. 

On the pillars on the yard side are the seal of the city of Cam- 
bridge and the giver's name. 

The first Stoughton was poorly constructed, and after lingering 



242 CAMBRIDGE. 

to the age of eighty years, having some time before been con- 
demned as unsafe, was torn down. The jiresent Stoiighton was 
built in 1804-05 by the college corporation, the cost being in large 
part met from the proceeds of a lottery authorized by the General 
Court, to raise funds for its building and for repairs on Massachu- 
setts. Among the noted men who roomed here when students, 
were the brothers Alexander H. and Edward Everett ; Judge Wil- 
liam Pitt Preble, of Maine, a justice of the first supreme court of 
that State, afterward minister to the Netherlands ; Josiah Quincy, 
George S. Hillard, Caleb Cushing, Horatio Greenough, C. C. Fel- 
ton, Charles Sumner, George T. Bigelow, Oliver Wendell Holmes, 
Charles T. Brooks, Judge E. Rockwood Hoar, and Edward Ev- 
erett Hale. Hollis Avas built by the Province, and commemorates 
Thomas Hollis, of England, the first of six of the Hollis family 
who were benefactors of the college. Prescott the historian, 
Ralph Waldo Emerson, the elder Charles Francis Adams, Wendell 
Phillips, Henry D. Thoreau, Judge Benjamin R. Curtis, occupied 
rooms here in their college days. Holden Chapel was given by 
the widow of Samuel Holden, sometime governor of the Bank of 
England, a leading " Dissenter." It was used for college prayers 
until 176G, then for anatomical lectures and dissections, and later 
was reconstructed into recitation rooms. Holworthy was built in 
1812 from a bequest of Sir Matthew Holworthy, merchant, of 
Hackney, Middlesex, England, and money received from a lottery. 
Among many others famous in after years who lived here when 
seniors were George Bancroft and Phillips Brooks. 

Thayer, on the east side of the Quadrangle, was, when finished 
in 1870, the largest and, in style, the most imposing of the dor- 
mitories on tlje college grounds. Its cost was met by Nathaniel 
Thayer, capitalist of Boston, a generous citizen, especially help- 
ful to Agassiz's scientific work, who erected it in memory of his 
father, the Rev. Nathaniel Thayer, Unitarian minister in Lancas- 
ter for fifty years, and of his brother, John Eliot Thayer. Univer- 
sity Hall, dating from 1815, was the first stone building in the 
yard, and when new was " the pride of college architecture." 
This haU is the centre of the University, where are the offices of 
the president, dean, and others, where the faculty meet weekly, 
and the academic council holds its sessions. It has been occupied 
for these purposes since President Sparks's day. On the steps of 
the southern entrance the college dignitaries have been wont for 
years formally to receive distinguished visitors. President Monroe 
was so received in 1817; Major-General Worth, with the West 
Point Cadets, in 1821 ; Lafayette in 1824 ; Jackson and Van Buren 
in 1833. 



CAMBRIDGE. 243 

Of Lafayette's reception by President Kirkland Dr. Peabody speaks with 
especial Avarmth in his "Harvard Reminiscences." No one that witnesfeed 
it, he says, " could ever forget it, and Dr. Kirkland's presentation of the 
assembled students to the illustrious guest. It was probably the grandest 
moment of his life, and it is impossible to overestimate the lifelong im- 
pression which he made on all who saw and heard him. Years afterward 
Lafayette spoke of this as having transcended all similar ceremonies in his 
honor." 

University at first contained the chapel, commons, and recitation 
rooms. The parts not occupied by the college officers are yet used 
for recitations and for examinations. There was originally on the 
building a roofed piazza. This was removed during a period of 
rigid discipline. Dr. Peabody tells us, "to check the 'grouping' 
of students, which used to be a penal offense, two having been a 
sufficient number to constitute a group ; while, in at least one in- 
stance, an extra-zealous proctor reported a solitary student as evi- 
dently waiting to be joined by another, and thus offering himself 
as a nucleus for a grouij." Weld and Matthews followed Thayer, 
both being completed in 1872, and then esteemed the finest halls 
in the yard. Both were gifts from individuals — Weld from Wil- 
liam J. Weld, erected in memoiy of his brother, Stephen Minot 
Weld, and Matthews from Nathan Matthews, capitalist of Boston. 
On the broad steps of Matthews the college Glee Club meet to 
sing on pleasant evenings. Gray's is older than its nearest neigh- 
bors, having been built in 1863. It commemorates members of 
the Gray family of Boston, — Francis C. Gray, John C. Gray, 
and William Gray, graduates of the college, and liberal givers of 
gifts to it. Boylston. the chemical laboratory, built in 1857, en- 
larged in 1870, was named for Ward Nicholas Boylston, a descend- 
ant of Dr. Zabdiel Boylston, the introducer of the practice of 
inoculation into America [see Walk No. 33]. He was a benefactor 
of Boston in various ways, and left to the college an accumulative 
fund for the erection of this building. 

Of the east side buildings. Gore Hall, built in 1841, under Presi- 
dent Quincy's auspices, especially for the College Library, is the 
oldest. It was named in honor of Christopher Gore, governor of 
the Commonwealth 1809-10, and United States commissioner to 
England under the Jay treaty, who left a bequest of seventy 
thousand dollars to the College. Well constructed of granite, and 
in design after the chapel of King's College at the English Cam- 
bridge, it held for some time the place of chief ornament of the 
grounds. The east wing, larger than the original structure, was 
built in 1877. The " Louisburg Cross," above the main entrance 
door, was brought by Massachusetts troops from the siege of 
Louisburg in 1745. The Library here housed, which Charles 
Eliot Norton has called " the centre of the intellectual life of the 



244 



CAMBRIDGE. 



University," is the largest of the university libraries of the coun- 
try, containing about four hundred thousand volumes, many of 
them rare treasures, and three hundred thousand pamphlets. Its 
rich stores are accessible to scholars without as well as within the 
University. It has been largely developed under the administra- 
tion of Justin Winsor, as librarian (since 1877). Sever Hall, the 
finest of the lecture and recitation halls in exterior design and 
intei'ior arrangement [H. H. Richardson, architect], was built in 
1880, the cost met from a fund of one hundred thousand dollars, 
given for the pvir^jose by Mrs. Anna E. P. Sever, whose name it 
bears. The stone Appleton Chapel commemorates Samuel Apple- 
ton, merchant and i)hilanthropist of Boston, whose gifts to the 
college amounted to two hundred thousand dollars, and who gave 
away a small fortune in benevolent work during his lifetime. It 
was built in 1858, and in subsequent years was considerably im- 
proved by the children of Mr. Appleton's brother, Nathan Apple- 
ton, merchant and statesman, one of the founders of the city of 
Lowell. Its neighbor, the Ioav, light-colored stone Fogg Art Mu- 
seum [Richard M. Hunt, architect], facing the street, was built 




''^ssm-^'F^^M 



•-a:.. ;- -, '■s^j^^tay.firtt- 



The Fogg Art Museum. 



in 1895, a gift of Mrs. Elizabeth Fogg, of New York, who be- 
queathed two hundred thousand dollars for its erection and main- 
tenance. It contains lecture and exhibition halls, in which are 
collections of casts, electrotypes of coins, Greek vases, and Italian 
renaissance work. Sections in plaster of the Parthenon fi-ieze 
form the frieze of the main hall. The museum is open to the pub- 
lie daily, including Sunday afternoons. 

The North Gate, in general character with the West Gate, 
though less elaborate in style and extent, was a gift of George Von 
L. Meyer, of Boston, class of 1879. It was set up in 1891, a year 
after the completion of the other. Leaving the yard by this 
gate, we cross to stately Memorial Hall, on the delta opposite, with 
Daniel C. French's bronze sitting statue of John Harvard in the 



CAMBRIDGE. 245 

open space at the side. French's work will bear close inspection. 
It is an ideal figure and face, for no likeness of the founder exists. 
It was a gift to the College from Samuel J. Bridge, and was 
placed in 1883. Memorial Hall, with Sanders Theatre [Ware & 
Van Brunt, architects], the monument of Harvard graduates to 
comrades who fell in the Civil War, was built in 1873-76. To the 
cost of the theatre was applied the accumulation from a bequest 
of Charles Sanders, who was steward of the College in President 
Quincy's time, and a generous friend to various causes. The hall 
is west of the great square tower, rising two hundred feet ; the 
theatre, east. In the noble ti-ansej^t the names of the graduates 
and students who lost their lives in the rebellion are disj^layed on 
marble tablets. The hall is now used for Commons by the Din- 
ing Association of students. Its walls are adorned with portraits 
by Copley, Stuart, and other early American painters, and busts 
by American sculptors of many worthies identified with the col- 
lege. These are open to public view when the students are not at 
meals. The bust of Longfellow here is a replica of the one in 
Westminster Abbey. Images of scholars, poets, and heroes of 
past times fill the windows. In the theatre is a statue of Josiah 
Quincy, in marble, by Story. 

We leave Memorial Hall by the north door, and take the curving 
path at the right to the street — Kirkland Street, — from which 
we turn into Divinity Avenue, opposite the end of Quincy Street, 
for a circuit of the other college buildings outside the College 
Yard. The comfortable old mansion-house across the street from 
the north door is Foxcroft House, the boarding-place of the large 
Foxcroft Club of students. On Quiiicy Street, close hy, is the 
New-Church Theological School in the Sparks-Greenough houses 
already mentioned ; and looking down Quincy Street we may see 
the Agassiz house. 

The walk along Divinity Avenue, with its double row of trees on 
either side, is full of refreshment, and we regret that it is so brief. 
A few steps from the entrance, between old-fashioned i3osts, bring 
us to the Divinity h chool buildings on the right side, — Divinity 
Hall, Divinity House, and Divinity Library, — and the magnificent 
museums on the left, covering nearly three sides of the quad- 
rangle on which old Divinity (dating from 1826) faces. The sev- 
eral museums, constituting the University Museum, embrace : 
the Peabody Museum of American Archaeology and Ethnology, 
occupying the south wing of the great structure, fronting on the 
avenue ; the Museiun of Comparative Zoology, with its various 
laboratories, occupying the north wing, facing the quadrangle, and 
a part of the west wing, fronting on Oxford Street, next west of 



246 CAMBRIDGE. 

the avenue ; the Semitic Museum, in the Archaeological wing- ; the 
Botanical Museum, with laboratories of cryptogamic and phanero. 
gamic botany, forming- the central part of the Oxford Street fi'ont ; 
and the Mineralogical Museum and laboratoi-ies, in the same sec- 
tion. The Peabody Museum bears the name of the philanthropist, 
George Peabody, who gave the college $150,000 for establishment ; 
it was first opened in 1877. The Museum of Comparative Zoijlog-y 
is a monument to Louis Agassiz, from whose collections of natural 
history, begun in 1848, it developed. It has grown to its present 
proportions, as contemplated in the original design of the great 
naturalist, by successive additions, the cost of which has been 
defrayed largely by his son, Alexander Agassiz, who has been the 
curator since 1875. The Botanical Museum was established by 
the eminent botanist, Dr. Asa Gray, who first came to Cambridge 
in 1842. The Oxford Street facade of the building has two en- 
trances, one being the public entrance, the other leading to the 
lecture rooms and laboratories in zoology and geology. The muse- 
ums are open to the public between specified hours on week days 
and Sunday afternoons. 

Following Divinity Avenue to the point where the sign "Private 
Grounds," appears across the lane, hung high in the trees, Norton 
Field and the remnant of Norton's Woods lying to the right, we 
turn into the lane at the left and so reach Oxford Street. The 
home of Professor Charles Eliot Norton, a mansion-house of early 
nineteenth-century type, on "Shady Hill," lies over to the north 
of Norton's Woods. On Oxford Street, the two large dormitories 
of brick and marble trimmings, to the right as we enter from the 
lane, are Conant Hall, east side, and Perkins Hall, west side 
[Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge, architects of both], completed in 
1894. The former was built from a bequest ($140,000) by Edwin 
Conant, of Worcester, at the time of his death, in 1891, the oldest 
member of the Worcester bar ; the latter, from a bequest ($150,- 
000) by Mrs. Catharine P. Perkins, of Boston (died in 1893), as a 
memorial of three generations of Harvard graduates, members of 
the family of her husband, who died in 1886 : the Rev. Daniel 
Perkins, class of 1717, for sixty-two years minister of Bridge- 
water ; his son, Richard Perkins, class of 1748, who practiced med- 
icine in Bridgewater, and his grandson, William F. Perkins, class 
of 1819, who died in 1820, eldest brother of her husband. Behind 
Perkins Hall, and on the north side of Jarvis Street, lies Jarvis 
Field, for many years devoted to college football and tennis ; and 
on the south side of Jarvis Street, Holmes Field, the famous 
old baseball battle-field, now abandoned for Soldiers Field. The 
Carey Athletic Building [Longfellow, Alden & Harlow, archi- 



CAMBRIDGE. 247 

tects] given by Henry R. A. Carey, a graduate, is on the Jarvis 
Street side of Holmes Field. Jarvis Street runs to Massachusetts 
Avenue, on the corner of which is Society House (1850). 

Crossing Holmes Field diagonally, we pass the rear and side of 
the Jefferson Physical Laboratory, on the left, and reach Austin 
Hall, the Law School building, at the right. The Lawrence Sci- 
entific School, in front of the Jefferson Laboratory, and its neigh- 
bor, the Heraenway Gymnasium, are on the line of Kirkland 
Street. The Jefferson Laboratory was built in 1884, a gift of 
T. Jefferson Coolidge, banker, of Boston, and minister to France 
in the administration of President Harrison. The Lawrence Sci- 
entific School was founded in 1847 by Abbott Lawrence, the lead- 
ing Boston merchant in his time ; here Agassiz's connection with 
the College began in 1848 in the chair of zoology and geology. The 
Hemenviray Gymnasium [Peabody & Stearns, architects] was 
built in 1879, a gift of Augustus Hemenway, of Boston, H. C. 1875 : 
one of the best of its kind, and free to all the students of the uni- 
versity. Austin Hall [H. H. Richardson, architect] was built in 
1883, a gift of Edwin Austin : the richest building in the group, 
constructed of handsome stone, with the characteristic Richard- 
son arches, the conspicuous feature of its composition. 

The Law School Library, in Austin Hall, has a number of old 
portraits, which may be seen by visitors. The interior of this 
building is as effective as its exterior. Its front ground embraces 
the site of " The Gambrel-roofed house," of which Holmes has so 
delightfully discoursed — the autocrat's birthplace ; in Revolution- 
ary days, the Hastings house, headquarters of General Artemas 
Ward, where the plan for the movement which resulted in the 
Battle of Bunker Hill was formed, where the Committee of Pub- 
lic Safety met, from which Warren hurried to the battle-field, 
from the doorstep of which President Langdon offered prayer for 
Prescott's men, starting on the silent march to Charlestown the 
night before the battle. 

We now cross Massachusetts Aveniie to the Common. Behind 
Austin Hall, backing on Holmes Field and facing Massachusetts 
Avenue, is "Walter Hastings Hall, one of the largest of the newer 
dormitories, built in 1890, from an ample bequest of Walter Hast- 
ings. Back of the sidewalk on the Common side, opposite the 
path from Austin Hall to the avenue, we note the tablet marking 
the site of the oak under which elections of governor and magis- 
trates of the Colony were held in some of the early years of the 
settlement. Of one of these only is an account preserved : that of 
1639, when Harry Vane was defeated by Winthrop, on which oc- 
casion the Rev. John Wilson, the Boston minister, climbed the 



248 CAMBRIDGE. 

Ocak, and from this pulpit delivered a fervid speech, which turned 
the tide against the Vane party, and precipitated the election, 
which they had striven to delay until a certain petition had been 
read. The lusty young tree behind the tablet, we read, is a scion 
of the Washington Elm. The Soldiers' Monument, with the can- 
non grouped about it, is of especial interest because the cannon are 
historic. They are of the ordnance cajDtured by Ethan Allen, at 
Crown Point, in 1775, for which Washington the following winter 
dispatched General Henry Knox, and which Knox brought across 
country to Cambridge, on two great sleds, drawn by eight yoke of 
oxen. They were employed on the American redoubts in the 
siege of Boston. Two of them are English guns bearing the broad 
arrow mark ; the other is of French make, and was probably cap- 
tured at Quebec in 1745. The bronze statue off at the right, in 
the northeast corner of the inclosure, is of John Bridge, the Puri- 
tan, in the costume of his day, a good piece of sculpture by Thomas 
R. Gould and his son, Marshall S. Gould. It was given to the city 
by Samuel J. Bridge, the giver of the John Harvard statue to the 
College, a direct descendant of the Puritan. The services of John 
Bridge in the Colony are fully detailed in the inscriptions on the 
statue. He was one of the Rev. Thomas Hooker's company, 
settling here in 1632, and remained when that company moved to 
Connecticut. He had supervision of the first public school, was 
a selectman for twelve years, deacon of the church twenty-two 
years, member of the General Court four years, and a eomnais- 
sioner to lay out lands in the town and beyond. He died in 1665, 
and was buried in the old burying-ground, toward which our steps 
next turn. 

This ancient " God's Acre," as it once was called, south of the 
Common, lying picturesquely between the two old churches, — 
the First Parish on the avenue, and Christ Church on Garden 
Street, — contains the graves or tombs of first settlers, early min- 
isters, presidents of the College, grandees of the town in Provincial 
days, many of which are unmarked. The names of tenants of 
?cvcral costly tombs, it is said, are forgotten ; some tombs of 
once prominent families, built on a level with the sod, are now 
" walked over vmknown ; " and others, above ground, are name- 
less, the lead in which the tablets once upon them were embedded 
having been cut out at the time of the Revolution, for use in 
bullet-making. Among the early settlers buried here were Ste- 
phen Daye, who set up the first printing-press, and Major-General 
Daniel Gookin, the associate of John Eliot in his work among the 
Indians ; among the early ministers, Thomas Shepard, Jonathan 
Mitchel, Urian Oakes, Nathaniel Gookin, Nathaniel Appleton ; 



CAMBRIDGE. 249 

the college presidents, Dunster, Chauney, Willard. The Yard is 
entered by the path at the side of the First Parish Church. Near 
the Garden Street corner is the Vassall monument, with the armo- 
rial bearing's, the figures of a vase and the sun. The Yassall 
tomb is beneath Christ Church. The graves of three of the Cam- 
bridge minute-men, killed in the Nineteenth of April fight, are 
marked by a monument of red granite, erected by the city in 
1870, bearing this inscription : — 

To the memory of 
John Hicks, — William Marcy, — Moses Richardson 

buried here. 
Jason Russell, — Jabez Wyman, — Jason Winship, 

buried in Meuotomy. 

Men of Cambridge, 
Who fell in defence of the liberty of the people, 

April 19, 1775. 
Oh ! What a glorious morning is this ! 

Near the Gookin tomb, which is on the avenue side of the in- 
closure, is the tomb of Governor Belcher, unmarked. The ancient 
mile-stone, with its legend, " 8 miles to Boston," which stands in 
the corner of the yard with its face to the avenue, was first set up 
in 1734, by the Court House, then in the middle of Harvard Square. 
It directed the traveler by the only way to Boston at that time, 
over the " Great Bridge " at the foot of Brighton Street, to 
Brighton, and thence through RoxburJ^ Abraham Ireland, the 
carver, whose initials it bears, is buried near by. 

The First Parishi meeting-house is the successor of the first 
meeting-house of the town. It has stood here since 1833. Its 
predecessor, in which the first Provincial Congress, Avhicli organ- 
ized the minute-men and the Committee of Safety, assembled, and 
where the piiblic commencements of the college were celebrated 
for more than seventy years, stood in the College Yard oj^posite, 
near Dane Hall. It became Unitai-ian in 1829, when the majority 
of the parish dismissed the Orthodox Dr. Abiel Holmes, and the 
church went out with him, ultimately building a new meeting- 
house, of which the Shepard Congregational Church, near the 
Washington Elm, is the successor. Christ Church was the first 
Protestant Episcopal Church in the town, opened for service in 
17r)l. It was designed by the architect, Peter Harrison, who 
planned King's Chapel in Boston. The model is said to have been 
taken from Italy. At the opening of the Revolution it was used 
for barracks, and for a while the Connecticut troops were quar- 
tered in it. At that time the organ pipes were melted into bullets. 
On the last Sunday of 1775, Washington and his wife, with others 
of the " company at headquarters," attended a special service 



250 



CAMBRIDGE. 



here. After the Revolution, in 1790. the church was restored, 
and about thirty years h^ter it was enhvrged as it now appears. It 
has a chime of thirteen bells given by Harvard alumni when it 







Christ Church. 



had completed its first century. The interior. "«-ith its decorations 
and mural monuments, is most interesting. In the vestibule is a 
revolutionary bullet-mark. The Vassall tomb, built by Henry 
Vassall, is marked by a low mound in the floor. It was finally 
sealed in IStJo. when it contained ten coffins, one of which holds 
the bones of *' Darby Vassall,'" once Henry Vassall's negro slave, 
who died at the age of ninety-two years. 

It is but a few steps along Garden Street to the Washington 
Sim. The old monarch now appears worn and feeble, and be- 
fore many yeare the tablet with Longfellow's familiar inscription, 
" Under this tree Washington first took command of the Ameri- 
can Army, July od, 1775. "* will mark only its rugged trunk. The 
unique old house with bays from ground to roof, almost under the 
shadow of the Elm. is Fay House, home of Kadcliffe ColleKe. 
Built early in the present century, it had been for yeai-s notable 
before it was acquired by this now famous college for women. At 



CAMBRIDGE. 



251 



different periods between 1810 and 1835, Professor McKean, Ed- 
ward Everett, Francis Dana, son of Chief Justice Dana, Daniel 
Davis, solicitor general of Massachusetts, and Judge Dwight Fos- 
ter dwelt in it ; and then for half a century it was the home of 
the family of Judge Samuel Fay, judge of the probate court, who 
died in 1857. On the occasion of the two hundredth anniversary 
of Harvard College (1836), the Rev. Samuel Oilman, of Charles- 
ton, S. C, a brother-in-law of Judge Fay, was the family guest, 
and here he wrote — in the room in the northwest comer of the 




i^-r-^^ 



The Washington Elm. 



second story — the words of "Fair Harvard," which were first 
sung at that celebration. The house was purchased for "the 
Annex " in 1885, and has since been twice enlarged. 



Radcliffe College developed from a movement begun in 1878 by Arthur 
Oilman, the present regent of the college, and a few others, to secure for 
women parallel courses of instruction outside of Harvard University by its 
professors, making it possible for women to take all the work required for a 



252 CAMBRIDGE. 

bacheloi-'s degree. Having the favor of President Eliot and a number of the 
professors, tlie movement broadened rapidly. In February, 1879, the first 
circular was issued, signed by Mr. Gilman as secretary, and a committee com- 
posed of seven ladies. An advisory board was formed, consisting of pro- 
fessors and the lady managers. In 1882 the managers, with a few others, 
became a corporation under the title of "The Society for the Collegiate In- 
struction of Women," and the institution became known, unofficially, as the 
" Harvard Annex," — a " nickname " bestowed upon it by one of its students. 
In 1894 it was chartered by the General Court as Radclitte College, the presi- 
dent and fellows of the university being made responsible for the grade of its 
work, and the authority of the college seal and the president's signature given 
to its diplomas. The name of Radclitte was taken in honor of Lady Ann 
Moulson, who in 1G34 gave to the Rev. Thomas Weld, minister of the church 
in Roxbury, the sum of £100 for Harvard College, with the condition that the 
income should be bestowed upon some poor " scholler : " thus establishing 
the first scholarship in Harvard, and the oldest foundation of the kind in the 
country. This fund lapsed, and, being discovered anew by Andrew McF. 
Davis, was reestablished through the publication of his researches at about 
the time that the incorporators were seeking a name for the new college. 
Lady Moulson was widow of Thomas Moulson, Lord Mayor of London in 1G34, 
and her maiden name was Radclitte. 

If we follow Garden Street for about half a mile beyond, we 
shall reach the Astronomical Observatory, just above Bond 
Street, and the Botanic Garden, by Linnsean Street, on the oppo- 
site side. These important departments of the miiversity should 
be visited, but we must take them on a by-walk, for they are 
out of our present way. The Garden (founded in 1805) is open to 
the public between certain hours daily. It covers about seven and 
a half acres, and embraces the herbarium, established by Dr. Asa 
Gray, the founder of the botanical department, and a large con- 
servatory. 

Holding to our original plan, we turn into Mason Street be- 
tween Fay House and the Shepard Congregational Church, — 
Avith its tall spire topped by the cockerel-vane, which once adorned 
the "Cockerel Church" in Boston, North End, and was blown 
from it by a September gale, in 18G9, — and so cross to Brattle 
Street. 

Turning into Brattle Street at the right, we are on the line of 
old "Tory Row" of Provincial times. This was then the " Old 
Koad " to Watertown. It was the exclusive quarter of the town, 
as it is now one of the most attractive parts of the city. Loyalists 
owned and occupied almost every estate bordering on this street 
between Brattle Square, where it begins, and Mount Auburn. 
Their estates were expansive and elegant, with gardens and or- 
chards, extending to the river. There were seven families of 
them connected by relationship, and they composed a " select 
social circle to Avhich few others were admitted." Once a year 
each family gave a social entertainment to the president and pro- 
fessors of the college, "from a sense of propriety rather than 



CAMBRIDGE. 



2b'd 



congeniality or inclination," and, this duty discharged, confined 
itself to its own set. Those were the days when "the scarlet- 
coated, rapiered figures of Vassall, Lechmere, OHver, and Brattle 
creaked up and down " this road " on red-heeled shoes, lifting the 
ceremonious three-cornered hat, and offering the fugacious hospi- 
talities of the snuff-box." When the Revolution broke out all of 




Tory Row. 



the occupants of the "Row " became refugees and their fine man- 
sions fell into the hands of the Provincial government. 

Of these mansions, two or three besides the famous Longfellow 
and Lowell houses — the one a Vassall, the other the Oliver house, 
— yet remain, pressed by dwellings of modern styles. Near the 
beginning of the street, a few steps from Brattle Square, the Gen- 
eral "William Brattle house still stands, now occupied by the 
"Social Union." Just around the turn from Mason Street, we 
pass the group of stone buildings of the Episcopal Theological 
School (St. John's, founded in 1867), with the St. John's Memorial 
Chapel at one end, and the Deanery, the house of colonial aspect? 
at the other. Opposite, on the corner of Hawthorne Street, is 
the Henry Vassall house, built early in the eighteenth century 
by a Belcher, and for some time in the possession of the royal 
governor. Major Henry Vassall died in 17G0, and his widow, 
Penelope, daughter of Isaac Royall, of Medford [see Royall house, 



254 CAMBRIDGE. 

Walk No. 14, pp. 87-90], who long- survived him, was living here 
when the Revolution scattered the dwellers of the " Row." The 
house is locally known as the Batchelder house, from Samuel 
Batchelder, its hospitable occupant for many years from 1842. In 
the Vassalls' day it was a gi-eat house, with broad entrance hall 
leading into a grand " saloon " of rounded end, itself opening into 
a conservatory. Here Dr. Benjamin Church was imprisoned after 
his arrest for treason, disclosed in his secret correspondence with 
Gage. 

Across the way is the stateliest of all the "Row," — the Colo- 
nel John Vassall house ; headquarters of Washington while in 
Cambridge ; after the war for a while the dwelling of Nathaniel 
Tracy, from Newburyport, who ran one of the largest fleets of 
privateers during the Revolution ; then occupied by Thomas Rus- 
sell, a Boston "merchant-prince ; " then the long-time dwelling of 
Andrew Craigie, who maintained it magnificently ; in later periods 
lived in by Edward Everett, Jared Sparks, Joseph Worcester, the 
lexicographer ; and from 1835 to the death of the poet, the cher- 
ished home of Longfellow. The public ground which the mansion- 
house faces, Longfellow Garden, was reserved through the efforts 
of the Longfellow Memorial Association. Over and beyond we 
have the view of the marshes and the river, which the poet has 
celebrated, with the Longfellow Park on the Brighton side of the 
stream, given by Longfellow and others, in 1870, to Harvard, to 
be developed into an ornamental pleasure-ground. The approach 
through the yard of elms and shrubbery, is to the same massive 
door in the pilastered front which swung open for Vassall and for 
Washington. The large front room at the right of the hall was 
the poet's study, and behind it his library, an apartment of noble 
proportions, the same rooms which Washington used for the busi- 
ness of headquarters, himself occupying the front room and his 
military family the other. Across the hall, on the left side, is the 
long, lofty drawing-room, wainscoted in carved panels, on one side 
a high mantel with Corinthian pilasters, where the Vassalls enter- 
tained sumptuously, and Madam Washington held her receptions. 
At the rear is the handsome dining-room. The southeast chamber 
of the second floor was Washington's sleeping-room, and this was 
Longfellow's room when he first came to the house as a lodger, 
during its occupancy by the Widow Craigie. The estate was pur- 
chased for him by his father-in-law, Nathan Appleton, after the 
widow's death, in 1843. The house dates from 1759. Colonel Vas- 
sall was a nephew of Major Vassall. 

The next house in the " Row " was the Richard Lechmere 
house, occupied at the outbreak of the war by Jonathan Sewall, 



/ 



CAMBRIDGE. 



255 



attorney general of the Province : a roomy structure of fine inte- 
rior, which stood on the corner of Sparks Street, first above the 
junction of Craigie Street with Brattle. This was the house occu- 
pied by the Baroness Riedesel, while in Cambridge with her 
husband, General Riedesel, after the surrender of Burgoyne. In 
later years it was the homestead of John Brewster, who raised it 




The Longfellow House. 



and put a story underneath. Subsequently it was moved to the 
corner of Riedesel Avenue, the next street above, and part of it 
we see in the present house here. When it was moved it was 
necessary to cut off the top story, leaving the house half old and 
half new. It was built by Lechmere in 17G0, and Sewall acquired 
it in 1771. 

Next above the Lechmere house at that time, now the second 
house from the corner of Appleton Street, is the Judge Joseph 
Lee house, one of the oldest houses standing in Cambridge, but 
yet a fine and rugged specimen of colonial Avorkmanship. It is 
believed to have been built before the days of Charles II. It was 
originally the mansion-house of an extensive farm extending to 
Fresh Pond, half a mile off, and in front to the river. Judge Lee 
purchased it in 1758, and made it one of the handsomest houses of 
its typQ. Judge Lee was a mild Tory, and after the siege of Bos- 
ton, during which he was in the beleaguered town, he was per- 
mitted to return to his home, where he spent the remainder of his 
days. The house remained in the Lee family till about 1860. 



256 CAMBRIDGE. 

The picturesque modern house, of modest design and propor- 
tions, occupying the upper corner of Channing Sfreet, on the oppo- 
site side, was the home of the brilliant young William E. Russell, 
mayor of the city when under thirty, serving four terms (1884:-88), 
and governor of the State three terms (1891-94), whose untimely 
death in 1896 was widely deplored. 

At the next corner, again on the right side, — Fayerweather 
Street, — is the Fayerweather house, hack from the main way. 
This was built by Captain George Ruggles about 1745, and pur- 
chased by Thomas Fayerweather a few months before the Revolu- 
tion. Ruggles was a wealthy planter of Jamaica when he came to 
Cambridge, married a sister of Major Henry Vassall, and built 
this house. Later he became embarrassed, and finally in October, 
1774, the property came to Fayerweather. Fayerweather's wife 
was a daughter of Thomas Hubbard, treasurer of Harvard for a 
quarter of a century. Some time in the twenties the place became 
the homestead of the late William Wells. Although the house 
has been enlarged and modernized since the Fayerweathers' day, 
its interior retains most of the peculiarities of construction of its 
period, — the spacious hall, handsome staircase, broad rooms, high- 
ceilinged parlor with paneled wood-work. 

It will be pleasant to stroll up Fayerweather Street to the Res- 
ervoir grounds, on the hill above Highland Street, the first turn 
at the right, for the view to be had from the reservoir jjath, of 
city, town, and chain of hills. Comfortable estates are in this 
neighborhood on Appleton and Highland streets, several of them 
occupied by Harvard professors and professional literary men. 
Back to Brattle Street, we cross to Elmwood Avenue, and thence 
reach the end of " Tory Row " in Elmwood. 

The old mansion-house, built in 1760 or thereabout, by Thomas 
Oliver, the royal lieutenant-governor of 1774, has been pronounced 
one of the best specimens in New England of the country seat of a 
Provincial magnate. Genei'ous in proportions, of three stories, the 
upper story with square windows of less height than those below, 
flat roof with balustrade, it has an air of dignity and spacious- 
ness Avhich many a more pretentious modern country seat fails to 
match. Through all the years of ownership by the Lowells it has 
been preserved practically unchanged. The entrance door from 
the broad steps is the same to which Oliver was summoned by the 
men of Middlesex who had flocked, with arms, to Cambridge 
Common on that September day of 1774, after Gage's raid on the 
Old Powder House in Somerville [see Walk No. 13, p. 79], to hand 
over his resignation as lieutenant-governor. And within, you may 
see the room where, perhaps, the "dapper little man" wrote upon 



CAMBRIDGE. 



257 



the document to which his signature was demanded : " My house 
in Cambridge being surrounded by four thousand people, in com- 
pliance with their commands, I sign my name, Thomas Oliver." 
Oliver soon after left the house and went into Boston. At the 
evacuation he sailed for England, never to return. 




The Lowell House. 



After the battle of Bunker Hill the mansion-house was used for 
a hospital. Then, in 1703, the patriot Elbridge Gerry became its 
owner, and it was his country seat during the remainder of his 
life, through his service on the mission to France in 1797-98, as 
governor, and as vice-president. His name was given to the ancient 
"Landing" on the river hard by. In 1817, four years after his 
death, his widow sold the estate to Charles LoAvell, then minister 
of the old West Church in Boston, and it has remained in the 
Lowell family from that time. James Russell Lowell was born 
here in 1819 ; here he died in 1891 ; and his grave in Mt. Auburn 
is almost in sight of the beautiful homestead. Charles Lowell did 
much to beautify the estate ; and the poet, to whom it descended 
upon his father's death in ISGl, cherished every tree and shrub 
upon it. The noble arching elms which gave it its name are 
mostly of the English variety, though there are a few fine speci- 
mens of the American elm in the yard. The pine grove back of 



258 CAMBRIDGE. 

the house, though somewhat thinned and curtailed since the poet's 
day, has yet a charm. The interior of the house is enabellished in 
plainer fashion than the Longfellow house, but after its general 
style. The hall, eight feet wide, runs through the middle, with 
broad glass doors at either end, opening to the grounds. The 
drawing-room, in the south corner, is wainscoted, and with large 
firei^lace, on either side of which are deep recesses, furnished with 
l^anels, the recess at the left lighted by a window upon the shaded 
lawn. Back of the drawing-room is the well-stocked libi'ary, also 
with paneled fireplace. The poet's stiidy, where he did all of his 
work, Avas on the third floor. On a window-pane in this room is 
cut the inscription: " Libertas, 1776." The house is filled with 
rare old furniture. 

From Elmwood Avenue we take Mt. Auburn Street to the right. 
Coolidge Avenue, opening between the attractive old estates on the 
opposite side, leads over to the Arsenal in Watertown [see Walk 
No. 28, p. 214], a pleasant road passing Mt. Auburn on the right 
and Cambridge Cemetery, picturesquely situated, on the left. The 
entrance to Mt. Auburn is reached a few rods above, at the junc- 
tion of Mt. Auburn and Brattle streets. Fresh Pond Lane, nearly 
opposite this point, leads to Fresh Pond Park, with its three 
miles of drivcAvay around the borders of the pond, and paths 
through hillside groves, a distance of about a third of a mile. 

In "Sweet Auburn," embracing thirty miles of avenues and 
paths over a beautifully diversified surface, half a day woidd be 
required to visit the most distinguished among its thousands of 
graves and tombs, and its most notable monuments and pieces 
of sculpture. Within a comparatively short stroll, however, we 
can see the graves of numbers of eminent persons and some of the 
finest monumental work or statuary in the ground. Not far from 
the entrance gate, to the left, we find the stately sarcophagus of 
Longfellow, on Indian Ridge Path ; near by the tomb of Motley ; 
a few steps beyond, on Lime Avenue, the grave of Holmes ; and 
at the base of Indian Ridge (on Fountain Avenue), just below the 
Longfellow tomb, Lowell's grave, under tall pines. To the right 
of the gate, following a curving main avenue, we pass Ball 
Hughes's bronze statue of Dr. Nathaniel Bowditch, the eminent 
mathematician. In front of the chapel, beyond, is the majestic 
Sphinx, in granite, chiseled by Martin Millmore, and placed in 
1S72, to commemorate the dead of the Civil War, with this in- 
scription : — 

American Union preserved 

American slavery destroj'ed 

By the uprising of a great people 

By the blood of fallen heroes. 



CAMBRIDGE. 259 

In the chapel itself, a cathedral in miniature, are the marble 
statues, placed in the fifties, designed to represent the Colonial and 
Revolutionarj^ periods, the Republic, and Law : the first, the sit- 
ting figure of John Winthrop, by Horatio Greenough ; the second, 
the standing figure of James Otis, by Thomas Crawford ; the 
third, John Adams (standing), by Randolph Rogers ; the fourth, 
Judge Joseph Story (sitting), by his son, William W. Story. A 
little way from the chapel, toward the right, is the grave of Phil- 
lips Brooks, on Menoza Path. On Spruce Avenue are the marble 
sarcophagus of Anson Burlingame, and the monument, with elab- 
orate inscription, to Dr. Thomas G. ISIoi-ton, the revealer of anaes- 
thetic inhalation. On Walnut Avenue, the sarcophagus of Rufus 
Choate and the grave of Nathaniel P. Willis. On Elder Patli, 
between Spruce and Walnut avenues, is the grave of James T. 
Fields. On Greenbriar Path, leading from Pine Avenue, William 
Ellery Channing's grave. On Sweetbriar Path, the gi'aves of Jo- 
siah Quincy and John G. Palfrey. In the neighborhood of the 
battlemented tower, rising from the highest hill, the monument to 
Margaret Fuller, on Pyrola Path ; the grave of Agassiz, on Bell- 
wort Avenue, marked by a granite boulder from the glacier of the 
Aar in Switzerland ; the graves of Charles Sumner, on Arethusa 
Path, leading from Walnut Avenue, of Edwin Booth, on Ane- 
mone Path, of Charlotte Cushman, on Palm Avenue, of EdAvard 
Everett, on Magnolia Avenue. 

Leaving Mt. Aubiirn, our way is back along Mt. Auburn Street 
to Willis Court, the lane at the right, just below the opening of 
Coolidge Avenue, which forms the entrance to the Charles River 
Reservation, and leads to the Norse landmarks indicated by the 
late Professor Eben N. Horsford. These are the site of Leif 
Erikson's house in Vineland and the supposed ruins of Thorfinn 
Karlsefin's settlement. 

The first opening at the right out of Willis Court is Bank Lane, 
sometimes called the Bridle Path. This leads through the sup- 
posed ruins of Thorfinn's settlement of about A. d. 1003. After 
passing the first bend in the road we see, on the right, the low 
stone walls of an old hut. These show the stones placed between 
layers of turf, presenting smooth natural surfaces, both being 
characteristics of Icelandic stone-built houses of that period. On 
the left is the sjd,-gata, or sea-path, leading to the river, where it is 
joined by another stone-laid path, which appears to have led from 
a dwelling since destroyed. Depressions in the ground between 
Bank Lane and the sea-path show where a long house built of turf 
or wood probably stood. Here has been found a typical Icelandic 
rectangular fireplace surrounded by upright stones. Across the 



260 



CAMBRIDGE. 



meadow, at a point behind the lower of the Cambridge Hospital 
buildings, we come upon the supposed traces of Leif Erikson's 




Site of Leif Erikson's House. 



house, inclosed by a stone and iron fence, within which a flat tablet 
bears this inscription : — 

On this spot 

in the year 1000 

Leif Eriksou built his house 

in Vineland. 

This site can be reached directly from the end of Willis Court. 

Turning here and following the river bank along the end of the 
hospital grounds, we come upon Mt. Auburn Street again. Our 
next objective point is " Soldiers Field," the Harvard athletics' 
ground, on the Brighton side of the river, which we are to make by 
this street. Brattle Square, Boylston, and North Harvard streets. 
When the parkway of the river-side reservation is completed it 
will be a cheerful walk over, so far as Boylston Street, by a shady 
path parallel with a driveway ; but by the thoroughfares it is not 
especially attractive, except for a little way along Mt. Auburn 
Street from our entrance point. So let us take the electric car 
near the Willows, where the river sweeps away from the street 
side, and ride to Brattle Square. Leaving the car and again afoot, 
now on Boylston Street, we pass the Weld Boat-house at the left, 
as we approach the bridge. The University Boat-house is far- 
ther down stream, at the foot of DeWolf Street, which comes over 
from the loAver part of Mt. Auburn Street. 

Soldiers Field is just beyond the bridge, on the right, — a large 
tract given to the university by Colonel Henry L. Higginson for 
use for athletic sjiorts. The monument facing the broad main en- 
trance — a tall and slender pillar of white marble, on a base and 
plinth of gray marble, crowned by a sculptured anthemion, colored 
in its sunken portions with red and gold — bears this eloquent in- 
scription : — 



CAMBRIDGE. 261 

To the happy memory of 

James Savage 
Charles Russell Lowell 
Edward Barry Daltou 
Stephen George Perkins 
James Jackson Lowell 
Robert Gould Shaw 

Friends, comrades, kinsmen who died 
for their country, this field is dedicated 
by Henry Lee Higginson. 

Though love repine and reason chafe 

There came a voice without reply : 

"Tis man's perdition to be safe 
When for the truth he ought to die. 

The picturesque low structure along the side of the entrance is 
the university athletic building. 

Our Cambridge walk ends here. But to reach the electric cars 
for Boston, we must return, by the way we came, to Brattle 
Square, or keep Boylston Street to Harvard Square. 



Newton, Weston, Waltham. 

From Boston proper to Oak Square, Brighton District, by electric car, 6 
miles ; fare, 5 cents ; or by steam car, to Faneuil (B. & A.), C miles; fare 12 
cents. Return from Newton Upper Falls, by steam car [New Eng.] 9h miles ; 
fare, 22 cents ; or by electric car, via Newton & Boston, and Central Boule- 
vard lines, lOh miles; fare (with "transfer"), 13 cents. Or from Newton 
Lower Falls, by steam car [B. & A., N. Lower Falls Branch], 11 miles ; fare, 
24 cents. 

From Boston to Riverside, by steam car [B. & A., main line or N. Circuit], 
10 miles ; fare, 22 cents. Return from Waltham by steam car (Fitch.), 10 
miles ; fare, 18 cents ; or by electric car, via Watertown, 10 miles ; fare, 10 
cents. 

Walk a [No. 31]. Over Bigelow Hill, Brighton ; over Nonantum Hill, 
Brighton and Newton, by the Eliot monument ; along the Newton Central 
Boulevard ; through Chestnut Street to Newton Upper Falls ; over Echo 
Bridge and about the Hemlock Gorge Reservation ; along Charles River side 
between Waban and Newton Lower Falls. 

Walk b [No. 32]. From Riverside, Newton, through parts of Weston to 
Waltham. Features : the river path along the boating course ; South Ave- 
nue and River Street, Weston ; Norumbega Tower ; Stony Brook Reservoir ; 
Summer Street and Central Avenue ; the Norse dam and canals ; Weston 
Street ; Prospect Hill and the summit views. By-walk in Weston. 

Newton, set off from Cambridge in 1688, constituted, with the Brighton 
District, the territory of the Newe Towne beyond the stockade, on the south 
side of the Charles River. From Nonantum, the Indian name, it came to be 
called "Cambridge Village," or "Little Cambridge," and so was known until 
1G91, three years after it became a separate town, when it was formally 
named Newtown by the General Court. The change to Newton was made 
spontaneously, the historian says, without any formal authorization. The 
town became a city in 1875. In area Newton is now one of the largest sub- 
urban municipalities of Boston, embracing nearly 11,300 acres, and its natural 
attractions are such that it has acquired the sobriquet of " the Garden 
City." It spreads over numerous hills of varying heights, and intervening 
valleys, with the picturesque Charles winding around it for more than six- 
teen miles, in two of its villages breaking into falls of much beauty as well 
as utility. The higher elevations are : Hunnewell Hill (200 feet), Mt. Ida 
(20G), Nonantum Hill (200), Waban Hill (320), Chestnut Hill (280), on the 
northeast and east ; Institution Hill (300), Newton Centre ; Newton High- 
lands, on the south ; AVinchester Hill (223), Bald Pate (300), and Oak Hill 
(290), on the extreme south ; and Beacon Hill (200), on the southwest. The 
city is divided into fourteen distinct villages : Newton, Chestnut Hill, New- 
tonville, Nonantum (or North Village), West Newton, Auburndale, River- 
side, Waban, Newton Lower Falls, Newton Upper Falls, Newton Highlands, 
Eliot, Newton Centre, and Oak Hill. The Boston & Albany main line passes 
through the city; the Newton Circuit (branch of the B. & A.), with fourteen 
stations, traverses three sides ; southern portions are touched by the New 
England Railroad ; and electric lines from Boston connect with lines passing 
through its territory, from village to village, and to adjoining places. The 
Hemlock Gorge Reservation, of the Metropolitan Parks system, is in Newton 
Upper Falls. 

Weston, set off from Watertown in 1712, included the " White Pine Mea- 
dows " and the "Farm Lands" of that township, and was long called the 
"Farmers' Precinct." It occupies high land above the neighboring towms, 
overlooking extensive scenery. Doublet Hill, its highest elevation (east sum- 
mit, 3G0 feet ; west summit, 3G4 feet), in the eastern part toward Newton and 



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THE COUNTRY SOLTTHWKST /^ .> 

or BOSTON 
--^y 1896. „ H , 

scaLC w»*KD. /CONTOUR iNTtwvAi, rof 1> iV ', •* _^ 

X. 






NEWTON, WESTON, WALT HAM. 263 

Waltham, commands fine views over the Charles River Vallej'. "Norumbega 
Tower " is within the town's limits, on the river-side. Weston is a rural place, 
to a considerable extent occupied by country seats. 

Waltham, set oflf from Watertown in 1737, was at first the " Middle Pre- 
cinct " of Watertown, and after the incorporation of Weston, the " Western 
Precinct." It was named for the English Waltham Abbey, from which some 
of its residents came. It was made a city in 1884. Its principal landscape 
features are the river and beautiful hills, — Prospect Hill (482 feet), the high- 
est. Bear Hill (340), Helmet Hill (240), on the east side, and other lesser ele- 
vations. 

Walk a. We go out hy electric ear through the Brighton Dis- 
trict, taking car marked Newton, via Commonwealth Avenue. 
By this route the ride is along Commonwealth Avenue between 
Beacon Street and Brighton Avenue, passing "The Speedway" 
on the left side just beyond Cottage Farms, where we maj"- see, as 
we spin along, some brisk brushes, and perhaps some good horse- 
manship ; then by connecting thoroughfares to and through the 
village centre of old Brighton, past the few relics of the heyday of 
the Brighton cattle-mart, notably the huge hotel of lofty portal 
and deep piazzas, once a place of cheer and bustle on market days ; 
past comfortable houses of old townsmen ; then into a more open 
country alongside of swelling hillslopes. 

We leave the car at Oak Square, before the Boston-Newton line 
is crossed, for our walk begins on the Brighton side. Nonautum 
Hill lies over to the left of the highway, Hunnewell Hill beyond 
to the westward, and Bigelow Hill to the right of Oak Square ; 
the first two mostly in Newton, the latter in Brighton. We ai'e to 
take Nonantum Street, opening from the left side, nearly ojiposite 
Oak Square and close to Tremont Street, into which our car turns 
and makes its way over to Newton Village ; but first Bigelovsr 
Hill (140 feet) invites us. Accordingly we cross Oak Square ; but 
instead of mounting by Bigelow Street straight ahead, we turn 
into Faneuil Street, opening from the foot of Bigelow Street, at 
the right, back of the car stables. This takes us past the Lutlier 
Adams place (now occupied by Frederick Tudor), with its magnif- 
cent trees, along to Dunboy Street, at the left, up which we con- 
tinue ; so getting, first, the eastern and southern views, — harbor 
views and a sweep over compact cities, — and afterward the 
northern . 

If we prefer to come by steam car, we leave the train at Faneuil 
station, and arrive at this point bj^ way of Brooks and Bigelow 
streets. Taking Bigelow Street at the end of Dunboy, we keep 
on around to Oak Square, with the view up the river. At the 
top of the hill, or near it, from the field at the left, spreading 
over a long surface, we have the fairest prospect to the north and 



264 NEWTON, WESTON, WALT HAM. 

westward : directly below, the river winding tlirongh Watertown ; 
beyond, neighboring towns and cities in detail ; along the horizon 
from Avest to north, Belmont and Arlington hills ; northward, the 
Fells. 

Back in Oak Square, we start into Nonantum Street. Our course 
is shaped to include the monument to Eliot, the apostle to the 
Indians, commemorating his first service with an Indian congre- 
gation, in 1642, which is on the farther slope of the hill, to the 
southward. This leads us away from the village, where are some 
interesting landmarks (for Newton Village, formerly known as 
Newton Corner, was the place of the earliest settlement, and eon- 
tains in the old gravej^ard on Centre Street, on the site of the first 
meeting-house, a monument to the first settlers, with other his- 
toric memorials), but it takes us along shaded walks with yet a 
touch of coimtry about them, the quarter being in good part occu- 
pied by estates with fair grounds. 

Nonantum Street runs along the side of the hill parallel for 
some distance with Tremont Street, on which are the electric car 
tracks, in the valley. We should keep our eyes to the left rather 
than the right, for the right side is lined with unsightly or at least 
unlovely structures, while on the left is a succession of old estates, 
each with goodly acres embellished with fine trees. The first of 
these expansive estates, Avhieh lies on the Brighton side, is the 
Breck place. The generous domain farther along, over the New- 
ton line, with the stateliest mansion-house, on the distant hill-top, 
is known as the old Bowman place. Nonantum Street enters 
"Waverley Avenue, which we follow to Kenrick Street, on the 
left, and thence reach the lane leading to the Eliot monument. 
The estate on the avenue extending to Kenrick Street, and cov- 
ering about forty acres, largely of beautiful woodland, is that of 
John S. Farlow, giver of the public park in the village, which 
bears his name. The lane to the monument is the opening from 
Kenrick Street by the yellow house, on the right side. It is but 
a few steps down to the unique structure placed in an open field, 
facing fair landscape, — a handsome terrace with heavy balustrade 
of stone, thus inscribed on the front : — 

Here at Nonantum, Oct. 28, 1G4G, in "Waban's wigwam 

near this spot, John Eliot began to preacli the gospel to 

the Indians. Here he founded the first Christian 

community of Indians within the English colonies. 

Beneath this inscription, on tablets, are cut the names of the 
chief and of Eliot's associates, Shepard (the minister at Cam- 
bridge), Gookin (Major General Daniel Gookin), and Heath (elder 



KEWTOX, WESTON, WALT HAM. 



265 



of the Roxbury Church). At this first service John Wilson, min- 
ister of the First Church in Boston, was also present. The view 
from the terrace embraces the wooded side of Waban hill, at the 
right ; the broad glen between the hills, in front, with Strong's 
and Chandler's ponds, and the buildings of the Catholic College, — 
St. John's Boston Ecclesiastical Seminary, — rising from masses of 
trees. From Waban Hill covered reservoir, not far oxit of our 
coixrse farther on, is a fine view, wliich should not be missed. Here 
you look over all the Brookline, Xewton, and northern hills, and 
see the Blue Hills, those in Worcester County, and some of the 
Cheshire and Hillsboro summits in Xew Hampshire. 

We take the street back of the terrace, up the hill, to "Waver- 
ley Avenue again. This road we are now to follow southward for 
some little distance, turning at length, just beyond the junction 
with Ward Street, into Grant Avenue, which leads directly to 




Newton Central Boulevard. 



Commonwealth Avenue extension, or the Newton Central boule- 
vard, which continues the avenue from the Boston line through 
the full length of Newton to Weston, — a sweep of upward of five 
miles. 

Here is one of the finest boulevards of " Greater Boston," broad, 
with firm, hard roadways on either side of the reserved middle 
ground over which the electric cars pass, sweeping, often in mag- 



266 NEWT on; WESTON, WALT HAM. 

nificent curves, across a coiintrj' never tame and in parts most 
interesting. It is the favorite finish of the "grand drive" out 
from Boston, and the paradise of bicyclers. Our way is up the 
boulevard so far as Chestnut Street, about two miles above our 
point of entrance, where we turn for the longer walk over to Echo 
Bridge and the Hemlock Gorge Reservation. Centre Street, the 
third street above Grant Avenue, crossing the boulevard, is the 
highway connecting Newton Village with Newton Centre, near by 
at the left, and Newton Highlands beyond. The first crossing 
electric line connects Newtonville at the north, with the High- 
lands and Newton Upper Falls at the south ; in Newtonville 
tapping the Waltham and Newton, and the Newtonville and 
Watertown lines, and just south of the boulevard starting a branch 
to Newton Centre. Chestnut Street comes over from West New- 
ton, passes through Waban, and finishes in the village square of 
Upper Falls. The next crossing highway, farther up the boule- 
vard, is "Washington Street, the great thoroughfare coming 
through Brighton (over which our electric car came to Oak Square), 
Newton, Newtonville, West Newton, and going on to Newton 
Lower Falls and through Wellesley. Auburndale and the river 
are but a short distance beyond the Washington Street crossing. 

West Newton is the municipal centre, having the city hall. In Newton is 
the Free Library. In Newton Centre is the Baptist Theological School on 
Institution Hill. The pretty pond in the southern part of this village, now 
called " Crystal Lake," once had a fitter name in " Wiswall's Pond " because 
it was included in Elder "Wiswall's homestead in the middle of the seven- 
teenth century. 

The way by Chestnut Street to the Hemlock Gorge Reserva- 
tion is plainly pointed by the swing sign on the left side of the 
boulevard — "to Waban and Echo Bridge." It is a walk of about 
two miles over, — long country miles. For the first mile the street 
is a rural road, cutting through small woods here and there, and 
winding in country fashion. In one of the bends we pass a hand- 
some grove coming down close to the road, along the edge of which 
we may make our path. Not far beyond this grove our road crosses 
Beacon Street from Boston, eight miles off, the big guide-board 
here tells us. The second mile is less interesting until Waban is 
passed and Newton Lower Falls approached, when we have the 
river views at the right. 

In the village we cross Boylston Street, — the old Worcester 
turnpike from Brookline, about which are clustered some quaint 
old weathered houses, — mount the hill, and are soon at the guide- 
board pointing direct to Echo Bridge. The entrance here is by 
a narrow plank walk between two houses, the broader main 



NEWTON, WESTON, WALTHAM. 



267 



entrance to the reservation being below, from Ellis Street out of 
Boylston Street near the river. From the plank walk we cross 
the massive bridge, and descend at the farther side bj- a long flight 
of steps to the Gorge, The Ellis Street entrance is to the Gorge 
below the bridge. It is one of the most romantic spots of the 



'i^^^WWW¥WWWWWW^'W\¥^W^'2 fe (i'flf r?'f?^^#-. 




Charles River region which this smallest of the public reserva- 
tions preserves. The hemlock growth over the wild rocky banks 
is magnificent, and the narrow river cutting its swift way through 
makes lovely pictures from various points of view. The fine stone 
arches of the high bridge, named for its remarkable echoes, show 
to best advantage, perhaps, from the northwestern side. From 
the bridge the \aews are charming on either, side. The mills and 
the surging waterfall are not the least of the many landscape 
features of the place. In the grove Ave may wander along wind- 
ing paths and over rustic bridges. The reservation includes, in 
addition to the Gorge, the banks of the storage reservoir adjacent 
to Worcester Street on the Wellesley side, and the pond, or "back- 
water," is used for boating. 



The Gorge extends over Newton bounds into the limits of Wellesley and 
Needham, embracing twentj'-foiir acfes. Boylston Street forms the northern 
boundary ; Ellis Street, the eastern boundary ; Central Avenue bridge marks 
the southern end of the public river bank ; and the new road from Central 
Avenue to Reservoir Street in Wellesley makes the western border. Echo 
Bridge carries the Sudbury aqueduct of the Boston water system across the 
river. This reservation was established in 1895. 



268 



NEWTON, WESTON, WALTHAM, 



The terminus of the Newton electric line is within three min- 
utes' walk of the reservation, and return to Boston can be made 
by connecting lines over the Newton Central and the Beacon boule- 
vards. A "transfer" to the central boulevard lines costs eight 
cents, and an additional five-cent fare takes the passenger from 
the Boston bound (at Lake Street opening, Brighton), at which 
the Newton lines connect with the West End system, into town. 
Return may also be made by steam ear from the Upper Falls sta- 
tion. 

Since our walk has not been a long one, instead of returning by 
either of these routes, we should take the electric car so far as 
Newton Highlands, here take steam car on the Circuit line to 
Waban station, thence walk over to Newton Lower Falls, and 
return from that village by steam car. This will involve an ex- 
penditure of thirty-two cents, a light investment for the pleasure 
obtained. For from Waban to the Lower Falls we take the river 
bank (reaching it by Waban Avenue and the second curving street 
at the left), coming out on Washington Street near the falls, which 
are here most picturesque. 







Newton Lower Falls. 



Walk h. Start at Riverside, ten miles from Boston, which we 
reach by steam ear. Electric ears come out so far as Auburndale, 
about a mile back. From the pretty stone station overlooking the 
river we cross by the passage-way under the tracks, to the farther 
side, where are grouped about the river shore the Newton Boat 
Club house and other structures devoted to boats and canoes, — 
a canoe factory, a public "boat livery," indicating the chief in- 
dustry of the little hamlet, — while the water is gay with dainty 
craft. This is the favorite rendezvous of canoeists on the stream. 
On holidays in the season they number hundreds, when the scene 



NEWTON, WESTON, WALT HAM. 2G9 

here rivals that on the English Thames. Water carnivals, or 
festivals, are summer and autumn features, generally timed for 
moonlight nights, and the procession of gay, illuminated boats 
makes this the starting-place of the course down to Waltham. 
The regular three-mile boating course extends from the dam at 
Newton Lower Falls to the Waltham dam. Across the river are 
the gromids of the Boston Athletic Association ; and a little way 
down on the farther shore is the club-house of the Boston Canoe 
Club. 

At the end of the road from the station we take the foot-path 
at the side of the hill-slope opposite the Newton Boat Club house 
to the river, and follow it down stream. The river path runs close 
to the stream's edge, bending with its bends, through magnificent 
groves which cover the grandly sweeping hill-slopes, and by fre- 
quent luxuriant growths of shrubbery and vines on the water line. 
Similar growths of green characterize the opposite shore, and no 
break occurs to mar the beauty of the region. After nearly half 
a mile of this w alk we see ahead the low four-arched bridge and 
causeway, where this river-side walk ends. Presently emerging 
on the road, we are at the finish of the long Newton Central boule- 
vard (Commonwealth Avenue), which here, at the Newton- Weston 
line, makes into South Avenue, the thoroughfare through Weston 
and Wayland to Framingham. 

Crossing the bridge we follow South Avenue to River Street, 
the first opening at the right from the high ground which the ave- 
nue takes, and turning into River Street we are bound to Pro- 
fessor Horsford's "Norumbega Tower," a little more than half a 
mile down river. Note for a by-walk, — South Avenue farther 
on to the Newton Street crossing, through attractive parts with 
pleasant side estates, notablj' the charming place on the left side, 
in a long, deep dell, with its cheery brook, natural grounds, and 
comfortable mansion-house (birthplace of the artist Bush), all 
spread in full detail from the roadside. Then Newton Street to 
the northwest toward Doublet Hill, with expansive views from 
the road on high ground, over meadows, open fields and valley to 
the south, and beautifid stretch of country down to the river east- 
ward. Then back to the crossing of the avenue, and through East 
Newton Street, over to Newton Lower Falls, passing " Keeway- 
din," the extensive estate of Francis Blake, the scientist and in- 
ventor, with the castle-like house on high stone-wall faced bank ; 
and beyond, the line of the New'+on water park. 

River Street to Norumbega Tower is a pleasant way, with 
high land on one side and occasional bits of river vieAv on the other. 
After several bends of the road, as we pass the most extensive 



270 



NEWTON, WESTON, WALTHAM. 



country seat here, with grounds sloping to the river, the massive 
tower appears in view ahead to the right, above the trees. A few 
rods beyond bring us to the carriage-road and path leading through 
small woods direct to the open in which the tower stands. The 




Norumbega Tower. 



point is at the confluence of Stony Brook with the river ; also the 
meeting-place of the river and the northern highlands of the met- 
ropolitan district. Thence the lower reaches of the river and the 
easy roads of its valley, as Charles Eliot has pointed out, lead 
through populous regions to Boston, while the upper river valley 
leads southeastward along the border of the metroiJolitan district 
toward the southern highland of the Blue Hills. The tower is 
a rugged, substantially built structure of rough stone, with inte- 
rior stone stairway leading to a "lookout" at the top. The 
large inscribed tablet set in its face states in detail that it com- 
memorates the pre-Columbian voyages of the Northmen to the New 
World : — 



NEWTON, WESTON, WALTHAM. 271 

A. D. 1000 A. D. 1889 

Norumbega 
City * Country • Fort • River 

Norumbega = Nor'mbega 

Indian utterance of Norbega the ancient form 

of Norvega, Norway • to which the 

region of Vinland was subject. 

City 

at and near Watertown 

where remain today 

Docks • Wliarves ' Walls • Dams • Bat-ins. 

Country 

Extending from Rhode Island to the St. Lawrence 

First seen by Bjami Herjiilfson 985 A. D. 

Landfall of Leif Erikson on Cape Cod, 1000 A. D. 

Nor.se canals • Dams • Walls • Pavements 

Forts • Terraced places of assembly remain today. 

Fort 

at base of tower and region about 

was occupied by the Breton French in the 

15tl), 16th and 17th centuries. 

River 
the Charles 
Discovered by 

Leif Erikson • lOCO A. d. 
Explored by 

Thorwald • Leif 's brother • 1003 a. d. 
Colonized by 

Tliorfinn Karlsefni • 1007 A. u. 
First Bishop 

Erik Gnupson • 1121 a. d. 
Industries for 350 years 
MSsur-wood • Burrs • Fish • Furs • Agriculture 
Latest Norse Ship returned to Iceland in 1347. 

Near the base of the tower, in the recess at the left, is set a 
large flat stone with a howl cut into it, which is exactly like the 
"hlotsteinn '■ frequently found in Iceland near old ruins; its use 
is now unknown there, but the word ineans " worshii^-stone." 
This stone was found in the neighborhood during Professor Hors- 
ford's explorations, and was saved for preservation in this struc- 
ture. On the side wall at the left a small round stone is modestly 
inscribed: "This tower was erected by Eben Norton Horsford, 
A. D. 1889." 

A few steps beyond the tower an opening in the woods shows 
the old ditch or moat which surrounded the fort. This we may 
follow nearly all the way round the fort-site and up ^Ston5^ Brook 
so far as the street, near by the old mill. A foot-path belonging to 
the same period skirts the river'on the other side of the wood road 
by the tower. A Norse dam and canals which the inscrijition on 
the tower alludes to as traceable to-day. we shall come upon far- 
ther along in our walk, near the line between Weston and Wal- 



272 



NEWTON, WESTON, WALTHAM. 



tham. At the foot of the path from the river to the tower is the 
boat-landing for use of visitors coming by water. 

River Street goes on pleasantly to Roberts Station, Fitchburg 
Railroad, about three-quarters of a mile below the tower, where 
it connects with South Street to Waltham Centre. Roberts being 




View from Norumbega Tower. 



the railroad station nearest the tower, the direct way from Boston 
by railroad is to this point. 

We cross, instead of following River Street farther, and, taking 
Summer Street, at the side of the reservoir opposite, make our 
roundabout way to Prospect Hill. The route we take is by Sum- 
mer Street, about two miles to Central Avenue, thence into Wes- 
ton Street on the Waltham side of the line, and along Weston 
Street, for about a mile and three-quarters, to cross-streets leading 
to the hill. The reservoir, which belongs to Cambridge, holds the 
waters of Stony Brook in a long narrow valley, whence they flow 
to Cambridge or escape to the river. The brook dashes into the 
reservoir through the rocky passage at the valley's head. Doublet 
Hill lies ofE to the south ; Prospect Hill to the north. 

Summer Street swings around the reservoir, then gently mounts 
the high land, and continues with numerous bends along tree-clad 
hillsides, coming with a final sharp turn to its finish at Central Ave- 
nue. It is a rural road, passing old farms, and through the latter 
half narrowing into little more than a single wheel-track. At the 
first bend beyond the reservoir, as we approach the gray farm- 
house on the right beside the large ash with unusual spread of 
branch, we have a pleasing view, through a broad open, over culti- 
vated lands, the water, the tower, toward Newton and its distant 
hills beyond. Midway along the road we have distant hill views 
to the right. And as the last bend, the final turn toward Central 
Avenue, is approached, we look down upon and over fair fields 
and rolling lands of a comfortable farm spreading through a 
pretty dell. 



NEWTON, WESTON, WALT HAM. 273 

Central Avenue comes from the Boston Road in Waylancl 
across Weston from west to east, and is continued by Weston Street 
on the farther side of the raih'oad (Fitchburg), at Stony Brook 
station (the next station beyond Roberts), about a quarter of a 
mile below Summer Street, to the right. We follow the avenue in 
this direction, turning off before the railroad is reached, to visit 
the Norse dam and canals as traced by Professor Horsford. 
The walk down is enlivened by interesting side and front views. 
Now we pass a great dome-like ledge covered with hardy trees, 
rising close to the sidewalk ; now, on the other side, a picturesque 
lane, with glimpses of dingy old structures among its trees. The 
way to the Norse landmarks is the inviting old grass-grown wood 
road leading uphill from the left side of the avenue within a few 
steps of the railroad. Following this road for about a quarter of a 
mile, we reach an opening on the right leading down to a meadow. 
Here turning, we strike the stone-Avalled canal on the meadow's 
edge, and from this point easily trace it through the bushes to its 
source. Turning here to the left, a few steps up the stream 
bring us again upon the wood road, at a bridge over a pool. And 
from this bridge we see the ancient dam, with the depression of a 
hut on the left. The curious double-stone walls, or foundations, 
and a pavement found in this depression were a puzzle to archae- 
ologists until it was known that Icelandic walls were commonly 
built in the same way. Old ditches similar to those found in Ice- 
land are scattered along Stony Brook and its tributaries. 

We are tempted to follow the path farther into these attractive 
woods, but this would carry us out of our way, so we must turn 
back to the road from which we entered. On the main road again, 
we cross the railroad track, and at the end of the plank walk 
are in Waltham — two miles from the Centre, so the guide-board 
states. As we proceed along "Weston Street we are cheered by 
pleasantly changing views, while the road itself is fair. A mile or 
so out from the Weston line, at the approach to a sharp turn to 
the right, we have a full view of Prospect Hill, with the neighbor- 
ing lesser height of Bear Hill. A few rods beyond the junction 
with the back road to Lincoln and Concord, we walk toward a 
good view of Waltham city. Soon we come again in view of Pros- 
pect Hill, lying in long line over to the left of us, and it accompa- 
nies us a good part of the rest of the way to the junction of our 
road with Main Street, marked by the rugged elm, where we take 
the street at the left leading toward the slope. 

We reach the rising ground on the farther side of the railroad 
track — the old Central Massachusetts line (now B. & M. ), — a little 
"way beyond, bear to the left through the small woods, and after a 



274 NEWTON, WESTON, WALTHAM. 

short tramp strike the path leading up the hill to its highest point. 
Friendly Waltham folk whom we meet will cheerfully point the 
way, and perhaps turn aside to act the guide until assured that we 
are on the right course. The mount is comfortable, though steep, 
the path being broken at intervals so that it has the semblance of 
a series of far-apart steps. At intervals, also, are rustic seats 
where we may rest, if so inclined, and enjoy at ease the beauty of 
the region which expands as we ascend. At length on *' Big 
Prospect" summit, attained by a final sharp pull, a glorious view 
spreads about us, embracing almost the entire sweep of the hoin- 
zon : on the north, west, and northwest, far-off mountain ranges ; 
on the southeast, clustering towns and cities, the river valley down 
to the harbor line, the Blue Hills range, and the sea. We are here 
on the highest ground, next to the Blue Hills, in" the Metropolitan 
district — four hundred and eighty-two feet above sea-level. The 
panorama in detail, as shown on the chart drawn by the accurate 
observer, E. G. Chamberlain, includes the following conspicuous 
points. 

Facing the west and following to the north, we have in clear 
view the three principal summits of the range of mountains some- 
times called "the backbone of Massachusetts," — Asnybumskit, 
in Paxton, thirty-three and a half miles ofiP ; Wachusett, in Prince- 
ton, the highest, thirty-three miles ; and Watatick, in Ashburnham, 
resembling a huge haystack, thirty-nine miles. This range may be 
followed to the northwest into New Hampshire by Kidder Moun- 
tain in New Ipswich, forty-two miles, the Temple Mountain, forty- 
four miles, the two Pack Monadnocks, near Peterboro', fortj'^-six 
miles, and Kearsarge, in Warner, seventy-five and a quarter miles, 
— the most distant point observed. The southern peak of Pack 
Monadnoek appears directly over Lincoln Village in the fore- 
ground, four miles off. Over this range is seen the Grand Mo- 
nadnoek, a little to the left of northwest and just to the right of 
Watatick, fifty-four and a half miles off, the highest mountain 
(3177 feet) visible. East of the range, in southern New Hamp- 
shire, we can see, among other isolated mountains. Pinnacle, in 
Lyndeboro, forty-six and a half miles ; dome-shaped Joe English, 
in New Boston, forty-four miles, and the two Unkonunocks, in 
Goffstown, forty-four and a half miles, the latter just north-north- 
west. West of north lies Bedford, seven and a half miles, with 
Lowell beyond and to the right, seventeen and a half miles. 
Nearly north is Billerica, twelve miles, and beyond. Fort Moun- 
tain, in Epsom, N. H., fifty-four and a quarter miles. About 
north-northwest is Andover, showing Phillips Academy and the 
Theological Seminary, nineteen miles, with Holt Hill, and Boston 



NEWTON, WESTON, WALT HAM. 275 

Hill, in North Andover. In front of Andover are Lexington and 
Burlington. More to the right is Bald Pate, in Georgetown, 
twenty-five miles. About northeast is the State Lunatic Asylum, 
in Danvers, twenty miles ; next in line, and nearer, Stoneham, 
Turkey Hill, and Arlington Heights. A little north of east is 
Nahant ; over Nahant, Egg Rock and its light-house. 

Now, looking easterly, Boston and suburban cities appear, and 
then the harbor. At the right of the State House dome we see 
successively Boston Light, Long Island Light, Forts Independ- 
ence and Warren, Nantasket, and the Atlantic House, about east- 
southeast, twenty-two miles. To the east is Massachusetts Baj', 
the sea horizon line twentj^-nine miles distant. Minot's Light ap- 
pears, twenty-six and a half miles off. Toward the southeast, in 
the foreground, lies Waltham ; beyond, Newton, Newtonville, and 
Newton Centre ; over the latter, the Quincy portion of the Blue 
Hills range, with Great Blue, to the right, fourteen miles off. A 
little more to the right is West Newton ; over Newton, Stoughton, 
twenty miles ; just south-southeast. Dedham, ten and a half miles ; 
nearly over the watch factory in Waltham, Newton L^pper Falls ; 
more to the right, Sharon, eighteen and a half miles ; about south, 
Auburndale ; over the latter, Needham. About south-southwest 
is Franklin, with Deaii Academy, twenty-two miles ; to the right, 
Woonsocket Hill, Rhode Island, thirty-two miles. About south- 
west is Hopkinton, seventeen and a half miles ; nearer west, Marl- 
boro', fifteen miles, directly in line with Asnybumskit Hill ; about 
west, Rutland, thirty-six miles ; farther to the right, Princeton, 
just left of the Wachusetts. 

Mr. Chamberlain has identified in this panorama some promi- 
nent bviilding in more than seventy-five villages. 

This hill, sweeping over long territory, Avith its two summits, 
Big and Little Prospect, the beautiful valley between them, the 
craggy shoulders of the elevation covered with forests, its pictur- 
esque slopes, has well been called one of the noblest of the Bos- 
ton basin bounds, and its preservation as a public park bj^ the city 
of Waltham is rightly deemed a matter for congratulation. The 
park now includes about one hundred acres. It is easy of access 
from several directions with a carriage drive, or forest road wind- 
ing throiigh it, of about two miles in length from Main Street to 
Winter Street in the north part of the city. 

Returning to Main Street, we may take an electric car and ride 
to the Common, across which is the station of the Fitchburg Rail- 
road ; or before going to the station continue farther down the 
street into the quarter toward Watertown. In this quarter, on 
lower Main Street, is the historic Gore mansion-house, in its day 



276 NEWTON, WESTON, WALTHAM. 

one of the most notable of country seats, — the stately brick house 
m the centre of exi^ansive grounds, embellished with noble ti-ees 
and gardens, surrounded by a walk of a mile in circuit, — and 
yet a fine example of the architecture of its period. It was built 
at the close of the last century by Christopher Gore, then distin- 
guished as a lawyer of Boston, the first district attorney for the 
Massachusetts district appointed by Washington, and afterward 
diplomatist, governor, and United States senator, whose name is 
perpetuated in Gore Hall, the Harvard University Library build- 
ing, erected through his munificence. This was his country home 
for many years, maintained with quiet elegance and gracious hos- 
pitality. The estate subsequently became the seat of the late 
Theophilus W. Walker, whose family still occupy it, preserving 
its characteristics without change. 

We may also, before taking the return train to Boston, find 
pleasure in strolling about the river-side. 



Brookline. 

Boston to Brookline, V^illage Square, by electric car, via Huntington Avenue, 
3% miles ; fai'e, 5 cents. By steam car, to Brookline station [Newton Circuit, 
B. & A.], 4^ miles ; fare, 8 cents. For Walk b same route out. 

Boston to West Roxbury, Central station, by steam car [Dedham Branch, 
Prov. Div.], 7 miles ; fare, 13 cents. 

Walk a [No. 33]. About Brookline Village and by a circuit route to Chest- 
nut Hill Reservoir. Features : the town centre and its neighborhood ; Aspin- 
wall Hill, Gardner Road ; the hill-top view ; Sumner Road ; Walnut Street 
and the ancient cemetery ; country seats along Warren Street ; Reservoir 
Lane ; Wright's Woods. Return from Cliestnut Hill Reservoir, by electric 
car over Beacon Boulevard, or steam car from Reservoir station. 

Walk b [No. 34]. From Village Square into rural parts. Along the Brook- 
line side of Leverett Park, and an edge of Jamaica Park ; Pinebank ; the 
Francis Parkman place within the park, a Parkman memorial ; up Perkins 
Street ; through Goddard Avenue ; along Clyde Street ; Clyde Park and the 
Country Club House ; Boylston Street ; over Fisher Hill. Return by the 
Beacon Boulevard. 

Walk c [No. 35] . In Brookline woods. 

Brookline has been called the most beautiful town in the vicinity of Boston, 
and the wealtliiest in the country. Wedged into the territory of Boston, with 
the Brighton District along its northwestern boundary, the Back Bay District 
on the northeast, Roxbury and West Roxbury districts on the east and south, 
it has resisted all appeals and pressure to unite with the municipality, and has 
maintained its simple system of town government from its establishment. 
Before it became a separate township, however, it was a part of Boston, and 
was set olf only after a struggle. From 1G35 to 1C37 it was a part of Cam- 
bridge, then Newe Towne. The place was at first known as Muddy River, 
from the once turbulent stream forming its eastern boundary. For a time it 
went by the name of ^luddy River Hamlet or Boston Commons. It became 
Brookline (first spelt Brooklyn) in 1705, when, on November 13, it was incorpo- 
rated and its inhabitants were " enjoyned to build a meeting-house and obtain 
an Orthodox minister ... to be settled among them." It was earliest oc- 
cupied for grazing farms by settlers in Boston who kept their " swine and 
other cattle " here in summer " whilst corn is on the ground at Boston." 
The town limits at the beginning extended to the Charles River on the north- 
east, but in 1855 a strip here was lopped off and returned to Boston. Other 
changes in the bounds were made in later years, and the area is now 4,300 
acres, or about seven square miles, surrounded by Boston, with the exception 
of part of the west and southwest where it lies against Newton. Tlie laud 
rises gradually from the uortlieast in gentle elevations and a succession of 
hills, the highest of which, Lyman Hill, west of the territorial centre, is 336 
feet. Others are Aspinwall Hill, Fisher Hill, Corey Hill, Goddard Heights, 
Fairmount, Hyde (later Walley's) Hill, and Walnut Hill. The "Village," 
which is the business centre, where the public buildings are situated, is on 
the northeasterly side. Longwood, the English-like quarter in the north- 
east corner, was early Sewall's Farm, so called from Judge Samuel Sewall, 
who came into possession of a good part of its territory through John Hull, 
the " mint master " of Boston (first coiner of money in Massachusetts Bay), 
whose only daughter he married. Her dowry, as was commonly reported, 
says Hutchinson, was thirty thousand pounds in New England shillings. 
Later, this section came to be known as*" Cottage Farms " or " Farm," from 
Sewall's cottage, which stood here from 1G89 to 1851. The name "Long- 
wood " was adopted about the year 1821, when the territory began to be occu- 
pied for country seats. It was suggested by the " beautiful woods on the 
rolling ridges of land," which at that time extended from the Charles River 
to Brookline Village. Brookline is especially noted for its numerous exten- 



278 



BROOKLINE. 



sive estates, pleasant woods, and fine landscapes. Tlie southwestern parts are 
the most rural. The grounds and racing-course of Clyde Park, with the 
Country Club House, are in the southeasterly part. West of South and New- 
ton streets, extending into the West Roxbury District, is a strip of wild 
woods, a rocky and marshy region in which game is yet found. 

Walk a. Our starting-point is Village Square, tlirongli which 
the electric cars from Boston via Huntington Avenue pass. An- 
other line passing through the village connects at the Roxbury 
Crossing, Roxbury District, with Tremont Street, Columbus Ave- 
nue, and Jamaica Plain cars, and by a short walk from the cross- 
ing with Dorchester lines. The Brookline station on the steam 
railroad is near by Washington Street, a few steps above the Square. 
Village Square is the old village centre, a worn and ragged qviarter 
now, formed by the junction of Washington and Boylston streets. 
Washington Street was the highway, much traveled before rail- 
road days, to the interior country ; Boylston Street was formerly 




The River way. 

a part of the old Worcester Turnpike, which still extends, under 
various names, to the " heart of the Commonwealth." 

If we go out by electric car over Huntington Avenue, we pass 
the avenue to Longwood, at the right, — Longwood Avenue, the 
first crossing street beyond the Fens, — which crosses the Riverway 
near the Longwood station, steam railroad, and extends to Har- 
vard Street, near Beacon Street boulevard. Beacon Street, coming 
out from Boston, enters Brookline at the northeast corner, and, 
cutting through Longwood, crosses Washington Street a mile and 



BROOKLINE. 279 

one third beyond Village Square. If we drive out or ride by 
horseback or bicycle, we can reach the village centre by Beacon 
Street, Kent Street through Longwood, and Station Street ; but 
the pleasanter way is through the Back Bay Fens, entering the 
town by the Riverway, and thence by Brookline Avenue (the 
"Punch Bowl Road" of early days) and Washington Street to 
the Square. 

The earliest settlement of Muddy River was made about and to 
the west of Village Square, but all landmarks are gone. An early 
eighteenth-century house, however, is yet to be seen as the Square 
is approached by Huntington Avenue. This is the ancient dwell- 
ing on the right side of the avenue a short distance above Francis 
Street, built, as the date, 1709, on its chimney indicates, a few 
years after Muddy River had become Brookline. It is known as 
the old Crafts house, so called from Ebenezer Crafts, cordwainer, 
who erected it, and whose descendants have been its occupants 
until modern times. Crafts, who came to Brookhne from Rox- 
bury, was a man of importance in local affairs. He was connected 
through marriage with the Whites, and his daughter married into 
the Heath family, both early Muddy River families. In this old 
house were once kept several slaves, one of whom was in the fam- 
ily for sixty years. The garrison house of the first settlers stood 
about half a mile west of Village Square, near the corner of the 
present Cypress and Walnvit streets, then on the outskirts of the 
settlement. And in the near neighborhood, five and seventy years 
after the garrison house was built, the first meeting-house was 
placed. 

The famous " Punch Bowl Tavern," built in the second quarter 
of the eighteenth century, which gave the name of ' ' Punch Bowl 
Village" to the region round about Village Square, stood on the 
south side of Washington Street. The main jjortion was a large 
two-story hipj^ed-roof structure of frame of oak, painted yellow ; 
and the additions, made from time to time by splicing on old 
houses bought in Boston and moved out, spread back over a gen- 
erous lot. Against the face of the house, under a projection of a 
portion of the second story, was a long bench where loungers were 
wont to sun themselves and the village Solons congregated to gos- 
sip of men and things of their day. In front stood two great elms 
(cut while yet in good condition within five years). Between these 
trees, suspended from a tall red post, was the swing-sign with its 
emblem, painted in loud colors : a huge bowl and ladle beneath a 
lemon tree resplendent with fruit. The "Punch Bowl" was the 
regular stopjiing-place for stages and the great goods-wagons trav- 
eling between the back country and Boston so long as Washington 



280 BROOKLINE. 

Street remained the only thoroughfare, or until the completion of 
the Mill Dam (now absorbed in Beacon Street) across the Back 
Bay, in 1821. Famous dinners were given here ; and the punch, 
tradition avers, was rich and rare. Before the Revolution the 
tavern was much frequented by British officers from Boston. It 
had a large dancing-hall, in which the most fashionable " dances " 
of the winter seasons — the " Brookline Assemblies'' of those 
days — were given. After a career of nearly a hundred years, it 
was torn down in 1830, and the solid oak in its walls and beams 
went to the making of nine houses on the site. The Dana Tavern, 
contemporary of the Punch Bowl, also a gambrel-roof house with 
spreading outbuildings, stood near by, fronting the Square. Its 
career as an inn, however, ended much earlier than that of the 
more famous tavern. 

High Street, opening at the left of Village Square, leads up to a 
quarter of pleasant old streets bordered by attractive dwellings ; 
and Walnut Street (originally the Sherburne road), crossing it, 
extends at the right to Warren Street and beyond, into a region 
of fine estates on picturesque roads, which we shall reach by a 
more circuitous way. 

We leave the Square by Washington Street, curving ofiP to the 
right, cross the bridge over the railroad track, pass through Har- 
vard Square (Harvard Street, at the right, is the old Cambridge 
road), and soon reach the stone Town House and the brick Public 
Library. Where the Town House stands and back of it, was 
once a high hill, with terraced slopes, which the town, after becom- 
ing its OAvner, spent twenty years or more in leveling, slowly digging 
it away as gravel was required for road uses. These two public 
buildings, although not so elaborate or showy in design and finish 
as those of some other suburban places, are substantial, and they 
are practically planned, as we shall see if we step within their 
doors. The Town House, built in 1873 (Samuel J. F. Thayer, of 
Boston, architect), is the third on this site. The first, erected in 
1825, is still standing, but some distance off, having been removed, 
when this site was cleared for the second house in 1845, to a lot on 
Walnut Street back of the First Church. It is now " Pierce Hall," 
connected with the church. On the occasion of the dedication of 
the present Town House, Robert C. Winthrop made the dedica- 
tory address. 

The Public Library (Louis Weisbein of Boston, architect) was 
one of the earliest of suburban free library buildings, and Brook- 
line also has the distinction of having been the first town in the 
Commonwealth to avail of the general statute providing for the 
establishment of free libraries in cities and towns. The institu- 
tion dates from 1857, and the building from 1869. 



BROOKLINE. 281 

The wing was built on in 1888, enlarging the library to a capacity of seventy- 
five thousand volumes. It now has in round numbers forty thousand volumes, 
admirably selected. The reading-room is called Gardner Hall, for John L. 
Gardner, who gave the institution the sum of ten thousand dollars, the largest 
fund which it has received. There is also a children's room, similar to that 
in the Boston Public Library. 

Just beyond the library, Cypress Street, in part a delightful old 
street, opens at the left and passes into the southwestern section, 
crossing Boylstou and AValnut streets ; while School Street, at 
the right, leads across to Harvard Street, from which are a 
series of pleasant streets on the left side, and at the right a little 
way beyond, Sewall Avenue branches off into Longwood. We 
may make a circuit of the left side quarter, taking in the Harvard 
Church. (Congregational), whose shapely stone steeple is a conspic- 
uous object in Brookline views, and come out again on Washing- 
ton Street by Aspinwall Hill ; or we may keep Washington Street 
direct to Aspinwall Hill about half a mile above. If we make 
the circuit we follow School to Harvard Street, Harvard to 
Mai'ion Street, Marion to Park Street, and Park Street, at the left 
(the right leads to Beacon Street boulevard near by), to Washing- 
ton Street again. The cathedral-like structure on Park Street is 
the Methodist Episcopal Church (George A, Clough, of Boston, 
architect), one of the largest church buildings of this denomina- 
tion in New England. It Mas completed in 1896. The Harvard 
Church (Edward Tuekerman Potter, architect) was built in 1S71- 
1873, and subsequently enlarged to more than twice its original size. 
Its style is defined as a secular Gothic, and it has been ranked with 
the higher tjTpes of modern ecclesiastical architecture. 

As we approach Aspinwall Hill from Washington Street we 
get but little idea of its extent and heiglit. With the exception of 
the steeply sloping field which rises on the southerly side of the 
highway nearly opposite the opening of Park Street, pleasant tree- 
embowered estates cover its slopes ; and the elevation has been so 
laid out by the landscape architects, to whom happily the treat- 
ment of a large share of it was intrusted, that its attractions un- 
fold gradually as its acquaintance is made. Let us ascend by the 
hedge and vine-bordered flight of steps along the further edge of 
the mound, which, we read on the sign half hidden among the vines 
on the tree-trunk, is Gardner Path. This Avay leads up to Gard- 
ner Circle, and a place of artistic suburban houses so set in circling 
roads that each has its fair and wide view. At the right of the 
long mount we have glimpses through the thick growth of plea- 
sant places fronting on Gardner Road, the carriage-way which 
leaves the highway some distance above the path entrance ; at 
the left is the Blake estate, one of the most extensive seats in this 



282 



BROOKLINE. 



section of the town, and occupying a portion of the origii:al Muddy 
Eiver farm of John Cotton, second minister of the First Church 
in Boston. 

Emerging from Gardner Path upon Gardner Road, which has 
curved up to this point, we enter the Circle at its most pictu- 
resque part. Across the road at the right, in the midst of modern 
architecture, conspicuous by contrast, is the old Aspinwall man- 
sion-house, a plain, ample, spreading structure, under the shadow 




Old Aspinwall House. 

of fine elms, upon which the eye rests with peculiar satisfaction. 
This house dates from 1803 and was built by Dr. William Aspin- 
wall, notable in his day as a physician, a Brookline " minute-man " 
and Revolutionary patriot, fourth in line from Peter Aspinwall, 
who set up the first Aspinwall house in IGOO in Muddy River Vil- 
lage, which stood for two hundred and thirty years. When it was 
built it was the only dwelling on this side of the then well-wooded 
hill, and commanded an unbroken view of the Charles River, and 
Boston beyond. During Dr. Aspinwall's time, and for some years 
after, there were fine orchards of fruit trees on the place, gardens, 
and greenhouses, in which roses of many varieties were groAvn in 
rich pi'ofusion. The estate originally embraced about forty acres 
of cleared land and woods covering the hill-top, and was purchased 
by Dr. Aspinwall in 1788. As Ave continue along the walk on the 
left, more of the beauty of the Blake estate is seen over the high 
spruce hedge extending beyond the finish of Gardner Path. The 
house, a stone country mansion of English jjattern, appears through 



BROOKLINE. 283 

the grove of beautiful oak trees which covers the upper side of 
the place and is its crowning feature. Near the edge of this little 
forest, and in sight from Gardner Road, are two remarkable trees, 

— a Southern cypress, one of the largest in this section of the 
country, and a handsome specimen of the Kentucky coffee tree. 
Birds tenant this grove, and the nimble squirrel is at home in it. 
The house was built early in the thii-ties by LcAvis Tappan, whose 
name is perpetuated in the street beyond, into which Gardner Road 
turns, and, although enlarged by succeeding owners of the estate, 
has not been materially changed in outhne or style. Before Mr. 
Tappan transformed the place into a country seat it was a large 
farm known as the "Croft Farm." It has been in the Blake 
family for many years. 

The summit of the hill is over at the right, and we may reach 
it by the circling Rawson Road, which connects with Gardner Road 
opposite an entrance to the Blake place. Bearing round to the 
right we follow Rawson Road to Winthrop Road, take this road 
to the left, turn into the field a little way up the road on the left 
side, cross Crescent Terrace, and make the highest point by cross 
lots. From the observatory, which was here for many years, a 
sweeping view of the town, witli the outlying southern and western 
parts of Boston, was outspread. But now the clustering houses 
shut off mucli of it. Still between the houses we get glimpses 
of country hills ; and in the foreground can trace the boulevards 
coming out from the Back Bay District for some distance, with 
the varied architecture thickening along them, the line marred 
here and there by ugly tall structures rearing their impertinent 
heads far above their fellows, monuments of bad taste. The 
pleasantest way back to Gardner Road is by Rawson Path, an- 
other of the vine-framed sweeps of plank walk and steps, which 
may almost be said to abound in Brookline. It starts from the 
hill-top and, curving past attractive homesteads, comes out near 
the Tappan Street end of the road. In this part of Gardner Road 
observe the beauty of the grounds about the houses on either side 

— the picturesque " lay " of the land, the artistic massing of shrub- 
bery, the fine grouping of trees, the vines trailing naturally over 
the stone wall bounds, largely the design of the landscape archi- 
tects. 

At Tappan Street we take the left turn. This street connects 
Beacon Street, about a mile oif to the right, with Cypress Street, 
three-fourths of a mile to the left, iiear the BrookUne Hills station, 
steam railroad. We follow it down the hill to the triangle, where 
Blake Road runs into Sumner Road. The great plain structure 
which looms up above its neighbors on Tappan Street beyond the 



284 BROOKLINE. 

triangle is the Brookline High kSchool, built in 1894^95 (Andrews, 
Jacques & Rantoul, architects). When in course of time its flat, 
monotonous brick walls are covered with the Boston ivy now 
creeping over them, the ornamentation it lacks will be furnished 
by Nature. 

From the triangle we turn into Sumner Koad, cross the rail- 
road bridge, and go on to the finish of this road in Boylston Street 
by the gate - house of the Brookline Reservoir (Boston Water 
W^orks), a hill, valley, and hill walk, of about a quarter of a mile 
toward a neighborhood of old estates and historic houses. At 
Boylston Street we might turn to the right, and stroll by the fine 
places which line this thoroughfare for some distance on one side, 
the reservoir on the other, — the Jonathan White and Joseph 
White estates, extending from the Sumner Road corner and spread- 
ing over a fair hillside, the old Boylston mansion-house on the site 
of the first Boylston house, which gave the name to the street, the 
Henry M. Whitney house with its south side covered with English 
ivy to the eaves, and beyond the reservoir, on that side of the way, 
the Edward Atkinson place, — but we had better now cross 
Boylston Street and take "Walnut Street, nearly opposite the end 
of Sumner Road, in order first to cover the beautiful Warren 
Street region with its succession of country seats. Going up 
Walnut Street we pass the Moses Williams estate, occupying 
the Boylston Street corner, and next, on the same side, the place 
of Henry V. Poore, the compiler and publisher of " Poore's Rail- 
road Manual." The long, low stone church in fair grounds on the 
right, at the opening of Warren Street, is the First Unitarian, 
successor of the First Parish in Brookline. It is a modern work, 
finished in 1894 (Shepley, Rutan, and Coolidge, architects), and 
one of the architectural monuments of the town. Back of it, 
facing Walnut Street, is the old stone town-house, now Pierce 
Hall (named for the Rev. Dr. Pierce, minister of the First Parish 
from 1794 to his death in 1849), the removal of which to this spot 
has been remarked. 

Before turning into Warren Street we should visit the ancient 
burying-ground, a few rods below the church on Walnut Street, 
where are memorials of distinguished residents of early Brook- 
line. The pleasant estate with its wealth of trees which we pass 
on the left side is that of Martin P. Kennard, United States sub- 
treasurer at Boston through three administrations. The old cem- 
etery lies close to the sidewalk, a small inelosure of mounds and 
vales, with rural paths winding aroxmd the aged tombs and moss- 
grown graves, shaded by venerable trees. On the higher mound 
nearest the street are the Gardner and Boylston family tombs. 



BROOKLINE. 285 

The flat slab covering the Gardner tomb is crowded with names, 
thirty in all, among which is that of the one Brookline minute- 
man slain in the Lexington affair of 1775. The grave of the emi- 
nent Dr. Zabdiel Boj'lstou bears this extended inscription : — 

Sacred to the memory of Zabdiel Boylston Esq. 
physician and F. R. S. who first 
introduced the practice of inoculation 
into America. Through a life of ex- 
tensive benevolence he was always faithful 
to liis word, just in his dealings, affable 
in his manners, and after a long sickness 
in which he was exemplary for his patience 
and resignation to his maker, he quitted 
this mortal life in a just expectation 
of a happy immortality on the First 
day of March A. D. 17GG, i«tat 87. 

With him lies here buried Jerusha 

his wife who died on the 15th 
day of April A. D. 17C4. Aetat 85. 

A tall locust shades this good man's grave, at its head is a bar- 
berry bush, along the side is the white day-lily and the bouncing 
bet, a very old-fashioned flower, and in a crevice of the slab sweet 
william is growing. Scattered through the yard are markers over 
graves of Revolutionary soldiers, eight or nine in all ; and in a 
group of more ancient graves, beneath the mound uj^on which are 
the Gardner and Boylston tombs, is a headstone thus inscribed : — 

Here lies buried the body of 

Mrs Hannah Mather 

widow of the Rev. Increase Mather 

of Boston. 

Note. She was fornierlj' the wife of 

Mr. John Cotton of Hampton. She deceased 

March 29 1737 in the 74th year 

of her age. 

Walnut Street crosses Cypress Street (on which is the electric 
car line) a little way below the burjdng-ground, and continues on 
to Village Square. 

Back to the green in front of the church, we now take Warren 
Street. The road forms a great loop, starting in a southerly direc- 
tion and so continviing for some distance, then curving toward the 
west and northwest, then in a northerly direction, at length ending 
in Heath Street. By Heath Street, bearing to the right, Boylston 
Street is reached at a point about a mile and a quarter above the 
Sumner Road corner where we crossed it. Warren Street was 
named for Dr. John C. Warren, of Boston, eminent among sur- 
geons in his day, who owned and occupied lands through which it 
passes. 

The new places at the entrance of Warren Street, on the right, 



286 



BROOKLINE. 



occupy the old Bowditch estate, upon which stood, until 1896, one of 
the most interesting mansion-houses of the neighborhood, for many 
years the summer home of Nathaniel I. Bowditch, distinguished 
as a leading conveyancer of Boston from 1825 to his death in 1861, 
and as writer of the " Gleaner Papers," " Suffolk Surnames," and 
other contributions to Boston history. The first road opening on 
this side cuts through the old estate. On the left side we pass a 
line of picturesque ledges close to the sidewalk, a piece of natural 
beauty, the preservation of which is due to the good taste of the 
owner. Captain James Welch. Below, on the opposite side, at the 
point where Dudley Street enters, the broad old house, half hidden 
by surrounding trees, behind a spruce pole fence with a hood over 
the entrance, all densely covered with the evergreen trailing euon- 
ymus, front yard with luxuriant vines, shrubbery, and flowers, 
the whole resembling one of those little English country places of 
the type which William Black is fond of picturing, — is the home 
of Frederick Law Olmstead, the landscape architect whose work 
is displayed in the public parks systems of Boston and other cities, 
and who has done so much to elevate the public taste. In exten- 
sions toward Dudley Street are the work-rooms of the present firm, 
of Olmstead, Olmstead & Eliot. The house is an old one, formerly 




' !h 



^^/,v- '-• i._-<v. -kJkM ^k.'i,. ^.^ . 



The Olmstead Place. 

known as the Clark house, having been built by Deacon Joshua C. 
Clark early in the century. The country seat beyond, on the same 
side, covering many acres of beautiful planted upland and slopes, 
with house of early nineteenth-century pattern, is the John L. 
Gardner estate. That on the left is the famous estate of Professor 
Charles S. Sargent, the finest, as respects landscape, in Brookline, 
especially notable for its large collection of plants, including an 
exceptionally rich display of rhododendrons and other woody 



BROOKLINE. 287 

plants. Next beyond, on the left, at the opening of picturesque 
Cottage Street (which leads hj Jamaica Pond to Jamaica Plain), is 
the quiet, retiring place where Henrj' H, Richardson, the famous 
architect of Trinity, Boston, lived and worked. On the right is 
the Goddard house, ancient and unique, dating from 1730, — as 
marked on the broad chimney, — in style and setting one of the 
most interesting of the older houses of the town. We shall rarely 
find in all our walks a richer show of syriuga than the magnificent 
growth, to the height of twenty or thirty feet, over the piazza on 
the side toward Warren Street, or a finer horse-chestnut than the 
great fellow in the front yard. The best view of the house and 
grounds is from the Cottage Street side, for from this side we have 
them in detail, — the long, quaint outside galleries, one above the 
other, the oddly shaped roof, the generous entrance, the old- 
fashioned yard and garden. The next place, left side, one of the 
largest and most beautiful on the street, is the country seat of 
Barthold Schlesinger. Of the house, a comparatively new, castle^ 
like structure, we get but glimpses from the road over the low 
stone fence and across the valley in the foreground. And from 
this point we see the rear elevation, for the house faces the other 
way, fronting a laAvn marked by great oaks. Next, on the same 
side, opposite the point where Dudley Street, which has made a 
loop from the Olmstead place, rejoins Warren Street, is the Win- 
throp place, the favorite home of Eobert C. Winthrop, rich in 
woodlands, extending to Clyde Street. 

On Clyde Street are the grounds of the Country Club, and Clyde 
Racing Park, which we pass on Walk h. The junction of the two 
streets, we observe, is a centre for the neighborhood, the police 
patrol, the fire alarm, and the mail box being here grouped against 
the guide-post in the middle of the roads, in vivid red, green, and 
white. The guide-board points to West Roxbury, three and one- 
half miles, and Dedham Court House, six and a half miles. Keeping 
Warren Street we pass in succession, on the right, the Upham, for- 
merly the Hamlin place, with the broad-piazzaed house well back 
from the deep lawn ; on the left, the Henry Lee estate ; again on 
the right, the Augustus Lowell estate ; again on the left, the Lewis 
Cabot estate ; each of generous proportions, with lawns and masses 
of beautiful trees, giving beauty to the landscape. 

Reaching Heath Street at the end of Warren Street, we come 
upon the English-like Theodore Lyman estate, which is referred 
to in Downing's '' Landscape Gardening" as one of the two best 
sx^ecimens of the modern style of country seat. From the Warren 
Street approach, looking across the splendid lawn sweeping up to 
the house in the distance, a type of mid-century architecture, we 



288 BROOKLINE. 

have the finest park view in the region round about Boston. And 
from Heath Street, a few steps to the right from the corner, we 
have a rare vista down the long entrance avenue of tall, arching 
elms and noble pines. This place has been in the Lyman family 
since 1841, Avhen Theodore LAonan, mayor of Boston in 1834-3G, 
purchased the property and built the present house. It has been 
maintained as originally developed, by the present Theodore Lj-- 
man, whose home it has been through hfe. From the hill at the 
west of the house are fine views. Formerly this estate was occu- 
pied by the distinguished lawyer and statesman, Jonathan Mason, 
United States senator for Massaehtisetts in 1800-03. 

Now taking Heath Street to the right, and skirting the Ljouan 
place, we presently reach Pound Street opening at the left. Turn- 
ing here, we follow Pound Street for a few rods across Boylston 
Street, to Reservoir Lane, which in part marks the path taken by 
the Apostle Eliot in his pilgrimage from Roxbury to the Indian 
village at Nonantum, now in Newton. On Pound Street we pass 
the old Town Pound, at the right, and have a closer view of the 
Lyman estate, with the mansion-house at the left. The pleasant 
old-fashioned cottage, with its pillared entrance-porch and side 
piazzas, on the Heath and Pound streets corner, was for many 
years occupied by Dr. J. Sullivan Warren. The round stone 
tower in the yard, on the Pound street side, is not a relic of Indian 
workmanship as some aver, but a modern structure, said to have 
been built by Dr. Warren for a " lookout." Another tower of simi- 
lar make is farther up, beyond the LjTnan place. Boylston Street, 
about half a mile above the crossing of Pound Street to Reservoir 
Lane, becomes very beautiful, passing through a fine hemlock and 
beech grove partly within the old Wright estate. Below the 
Pound Street crossing, or from Heath Street back to the Brookhne 
Reservoir, is the stretch of country seats on Boylston Street, to- 
ward which we looked from the Sumner Road corner. This we 
shall cover toward the finish of Walk h. 

Reservoir Jjane yet retains the lane characteristics, and is quite 
picturesque in jiarts, although some of its sightliest points, com- 
manding extended views, are disfigured by unkept holdings of 
small kitchen farmers. It wanders in an iri'egular line, over high 
land and across valley, for about a mile to the Pumping Sta- 
tion of the Boston Water Works on the farther side of the rail- 
road track, ending in Beacon Street. A httle way below its start 
at Pound Street is a piece of wild woods, on the left, embraced 
in the Wright estate, which we have mentioned as faeiug upper 
Boylston Street, and locally known as "Wright's "Woods. Leav- 
ing the lane at the old aqiieduet, the mound of which appears in the 



BROOKLINE. 



289 



field soon after we pass the abandoned tobogg-an slide, on the long 
hill-slope, and following the aqueduct line for a few rods, we may 
strike into the heart of these woods, and, bearing around to the 
right, ultimately emerge on the lane near the railroad. These 
woods are well worth doing ; indeed, it will be a mistake not to 



r-'^^-. 




Pumping Station. 

" do " them. They are natural woods in the midst of great ledges, 
and include, with other venerable trees, fine specimens of the white 
pine and a number of magnificent oaks, one of which must be 
almost, if not quite, as old as the renowned Waverly Oaks [see 
Walk No. 29], and are as impressive in form and outline. 

Entering Beacon Street from the lane, and turning to the right, 
our walk continues along the boulevard, or the banks of the reser- 
voir, as we choose, and ends at Beacon Circle, about three-quarters 
of a mile distant, where we take the electric car for the return to 
Boston. We have a choice of three routes : the Newton or Reser- 
voir lines, taking the Beacon boulevard into the Back Bay District, 
which are the more direct ; or the Brookline line (blue cars), which 
passes from the boulevard by way of Washington Street through 
Brookline Village, and enters Boston by Huntington Avenue, Or 
we may return by steam car from the Reservoir Station, a short 
walk from the Circle. 



Walk h. From Village Square by way of the parks and old 
roads, into the rural southeasterly parts of the town, then north- 
ward, finishing on the Beacon boulevard. Leaving the Square by 



290 BROOKLINE. 

High Street, our course is over the hill to a cross road, east, toward 
Leverett Park ; through Leverett Park on the Brookline side to 
Perkins Street ; thence along Jamaica Pond side in Jamaica Park ; 
a detour across the former Francis Parkman place to Prince Street ; 
thence to Perkins Street again, and so on to and through Goddard 
Avenue into the southeasterly quarter ; northward along Clyde 
Street ; thence hy Warren, Heath, and Boylston streets to Fisher 
Hill ; over Fisher Hill and hy cross streets to the finish. 

High Street extends to Chestnut Street, the highway connecting 
Walnut Street with the upper end of Leverett Park and Jamaica 
Park at Perkins Street. But we follow it only a short distance to 
Highland Road, at the left, which takes us toward the middle of 
Leverett Park. On the way along High Street at the top of the 
hill, just after passing the little stone Swedenborg church on 
the corner of Allerton Street, we have from the opposite side our 
first view of the valley through which the park chain passes. The 
fullest view is from Edgehill Road, a step or two from the corner, 
looking over the low stone wall on the Storrow estate, at the left. 
By Highland Road (passing hy Jamaica Road on the right) and a 
cross path it is a walk of hut a fcAv rods to Leverett Park. 

The point at which we enter is ahout midway. Just below, or 
northward, Willow Pond Road cuts through to Jamaicaway, the 
boundary drive on the farther or Boston side ; and lower to 
the north lies Leverett Pond, the largest of the three ponds of 
the park, picturesquely set and embellished, on which a little fleet 
of row-boats is employed for public use at slight fee. On the other 
water-ways of the chain from the Back Bay Fens to the Jamaica 
Park link, only canoes are permitted. 

Leverett Park is the section of the Boston parks system extendiuf? from 
the Riverway at Tremont Street to Jamaica Park on Perkins Street. It com- 
prises fifteen acres of laud in Bi"Ookline, and sixty acres within Boston limits. 
Leverett Pond covers twelve acres, and Ward's Pond, at the upper end, two 
and seven-tenths acres. Willow Pond is a small pool. The section is named 
Leverett for Governor Leverett and the family which was long associated with 
its territory from Colonial days. 

Crossing Pond Street, the Brookline boundary road (ultimately 
to be provided with an electric car line, the tracks set in the strip 
of green turf on the park side), we take Brookline Hoad south- 
ward. This lies Avithin the park. On the left, as we walk on, we 
look across the centre driveway, separated from our road by lines 
of shru^bs, to wooded hills and hill-slope walks. The succession 
of shallow pools connected by rivulets coming down from the 
upper pond were laid out in the original design for a fresh-water 
natural history garden to be supplied by the Boston Natural His- 
tory Society ; but its completion has been delayed through the 



BROOKLIXE. 291 

inability of the society at ouce tu raise the needed funds. On the 
right side our road wmds around a wooded bluff. From the en- 
trance of Jamaica Road we approach an open, backed by thick 
woodland in which are splendid trees. At Chestnut Street the 
guide-boards afford us a wealth of information. We read that to 
the right Brookline railroad station is but three-quarters of a mile 
off, Brighton two and seven-eighths miles, Canibridge four and a 
quarter ; to the left, Jamaica Pond an eighth of a mile, West Rox- 
bury four and a quarter miles, Dedliam seven and a quarter. 
And we observe that Pond Avenue at this point is but four and a 
quarter miles from Boston City Hall. 

Now following the curve of Chestnut Street from left to right, 
up an easy grade, we are soon at the fine finish of this park and in 
sight of the next link of the lovely chain. The brick building at 
the left, with ivy-covered front, is the old j)umping-station of the 
Jamaica Pond Aqueduct Company, now utilized as a bicychst's 
rest. We may ascend the steep, wooded knoll on the opposite side 
by the granite stairway near the Perkins Street corner, and stroll 
through the narrow wood path on the crest, enjoying pictiu-esque 
vistas toward the pond ; or we may cross Perkins Street and ex- 
plore "Pinebank," at the left; or, better still, "do" both, for 
both are worth the doing. Pinebank is a domain of about nine- 
teen acres, occupying the peninsula which juts into the north end 
of the pond, covered in large part by a grove of noble white pines 
and larches, with a mixture of elm, maple, beech, poplar, and 
butternut trees. For nearly a century before the taking of the 
place for park purposes, it belonged to the Perkins family, which 
gave the name to the street, and early became one of the most 
notable of the several fine country seats along the pond shores. It 
is especially rich in landscape features. Winding paths beneath 
the trees lead to the Pinebank House or Pinebank Refectory, 
occupying the site of the stately family mansion-house unfortu- 
nately destroj'ed by fire in 18*J5. The flight of weather-beaten 
sandstone steps leading from the shore up the west bank are 
historic, being the identical steps which led to the old Hancock 
mansion-house in Boston, and were trodden by many distinguished 
persons of provincial and revolutionary days. They were secured 
by the former owner of this estate when the Hancock house was 
being torn doAvn, and then set in this place. Upon the terrace in 
front of the Pinebank House, the prospect from which is exqui- 
site, the bronze fountain of "Oiipid," designed by Miss Anne 
Whitney, which has been presented to the city of Boston by a 
number of citizens, is to be placed. On the shore front of Pine- 
bank the water-side promenade is artificial, made by filling in the 
pond here to the width of about twenty-five feet. 



292 



BROOKLINE. 



Our walk up Perkins Street, southward, covers an edge only of 
Jamaica Park, an edge, however, from which we have an ex- 
tended view over the. pond, and of its picturesque setting. We 
may keep the roadside, or take the water-side path, but from the 
roadside the view is broader and more varied. The Drive, The 










Jamaica Pond. 



Ride, and The Walk make the circuit of the pond, a distance of 

about a mile and a half. On the easterly boimdary the Ride and 

the Walk are brought close to the pond by an esplanade along the 

shore, protected on the water side by a stone wall on Avhich vines 

are to be trained. On the westerly side the verdure-clad banks 

reach the water's brink, and the paths are carried inside the shore 

line. The boat-house and float of the Park Boat Service, with 

the fleet of canoes and row-boats, appear in near view to the 

northward. The electric launches make regular trips around the 

pond. 

The total area of Jamaica Park Is 120 acres, of which the pond forms more 
than half, or G5j acres. The boundary roads cover 13 acres of the total. It 
is connected with the Arnold Arboi'etum, the next great feature of the chain 
of parks, by the Arborway, between Jamaicaway at Pond Street, and Centre 
Street in Jamaica Plain. The beautiful shores and neighborhood of the pond 
were early in the daj's of the Province selected for country seats. Here were 
the " elegant places" of the royal Governor Bernard, of the younger Sir Wil- 
liam Pepperell, of Governor Bowdoin. The pond is the largest piece of fresh 
water within the limits of Boston. It is said to reach a depth in the middle 
of about fifty-five feet. It was the first source of water supply for Boston, 
the primitive "waterworks" being established in 1795, the conduit com- 
posed of pitch-pine logs bored out like pump-logs. 



BROOKLINE. 293 

We may pass to the old Francis Parkman place by a path 
from the street, at the left, along the pond hank. A. path leads 
np through the old garden, to the site of the historian's house, 
which is ultimately to be marked \>j a monument designed by 
McKim, Mead & White, of New York, for which a liberal fund 
Avas raised by subscription in Boston soon after Mr. Parkman's 
death in 1894. In changing the place for park iises, the removal 
of the house in which he lived so long, and where he wrote the 
larger part of his histories, was much regretted by many persons 
who felt that its preservation and utilization as a park building 
would have been most fitting. The treatment of the grounds, 
however, is such that the whole forms a memorial of him. The 
garden in Parkman's time was famous. He w as a scientific horti- 
culturalist, and took much pride as well as pleasure in its cultiva- 
tion. It contained rare species of bush, shrub, and tree, as well 
as flowers. He made a specialty of lilies, producing several new 
forms, one of which has become widely known as the Lilium Park- 
mani. He also cultivated numerous varieties of roses. This was 
Mr. Parkman's summer home for the greater part of his mature 
life, he having bought the place in 1854. 

A few rods to the right down Prince Street, — pleasant in either 
direction, — bring us back to Perkins Street, along which we 
next stroll to its finish in Cottage Street bj^ Goddard Avenue. 
We traverse high ground, from Avhich now and again we have fine 
sweeps of scenery. Soon after the turn from Prince Street we 
have a quite full view over to the right of Professor Charles S. 
Sargent's beautiful estate, with the house in the distance, which 
we passed on Warren Street in Walk a. We are now again in 
Brookline (Jamaica Park being wholly in Boston limits), the stone 
bound-post appearing by the roadside just above Prince Street. 

Reaching Goddard Avenue, we turn with it at the left and 
follow the full length of this winding, shaded way, u^ and down 
over rolling country, a distance of about a mile and three-quarters. 
The estate with ample old-fashioned house, conservatories, garden, 
and orchards, at the opening of the avenue, but facing Cottage 
Street, is the James L. Little place. Lying i3icturesquely in the 
valley, it is spread in full and detailed vieAV from the higher road- 
way. As we stroll along the avenue we observe here, as we also 
noticed on Perkins Street, the frequency in inviting spots of the 
sign "Private Grounds: No Trespassing;" and occasionally the 
sign "Shooting and Trespassing Strictly Foi'bidden," which be- 
speaks the presence yet in these groves and thickets back from 
the thoroughfare of tempting game. Extensive estates lie on 
either side of the road nearly all the way through. Just above 



294 BROOKLINE. 

the Little place, on the opposite side, is the estate of Dr. Charles 
G. Weld, a domain of many acres of diversified land. Next is the 
large estate of Thomas Doliber. On the opposite side, farther 
along, is the William Whitman place. Rockwood Street, branch- 
ing off at the left, leads into Jamaica Plain, and the character of 
the way is indicated both by its name and the warning displayed 
at its opening, " Dangerous hill for bicj'cles ! " Just bej^ond Rock- 
wood Street we swing by a hill-slope grove, into whicli inviting 
wood paths lead. Beyond we approach more open countr5\ The 
great field on the left, sweeping up the bare hill on the top of 
which are the large house and broad stable, is within the estate 
of the late William D. Weld. From the house and the grounds 
about it are magnificent views of wide extent. An extensive polo 
ground is near the avenue. The ancient house in a bend of the 
avenue, well placed, is the old Abijah Goddard homestead. From 
this point down to the finish at Newton Street the avenue is most 
rural. 

At Newton Street (which connects the Jamaica Plain quarter 
with Newton), we take the right turn and go on to Clyde Street, 
the first opening at the right. We presently come to the Clyde 
Park and Country Club estate along the left of Clyde Street. 
These grounds occupy a large territory, formerly devoted to fine 
stock I'aising, and known as " The Stock Farm." The farm at 
that time belonged to Mr, Bacon of Jamaica Plain, We have a 
fine view over the racing-course to the long club-house of colonial 
style, with splendid trees skirting the roadside and the track. 
Beyond the bend of the road some distance ahead, we pass the 
lower entrance to the club grounds w^hich is taken by the gay 
teams coming out from Boston on racing-days or club meets, drags, 
tally-hos, dog-carts : for, be it understood, this is the fashionable 
eom-se, the Boston " Derby ; " and the club, organized by Boston 
club men for " the encouragement of athletic exercise and sports," 
is the rendezvous of Boston "social sets," At the opening, we 
observe, beside the old style swing-sign hung against a worn elm 
trunk, the warning " No admittance except for club members," 
and so forbear trjnng this inviting tree-lined way. The road 
grows pleasanter as we go on. Note the mass of woods at the 
right ; the old house of early Ncav England tj-pe on this side ; 
then next to the Country Club entrance the estate of W, L, Gard- 
ner, the house standing half a mile or more back from the road 
in the midst of the forest ; the J, Eliot Cabot place, one of the 
most cultivated park-like places in this region, witli broad field, 
fine trees standing well apart, Tlien the old lane to the right, 
with rugged elms, passing back of the town gravel pit to the Win- 
throp estate. 



BROOKLINE 



295 



At the junction of Clyde and Warren streets, where we get our 
bearing-s from the full-lettered guide-boards pointing in various 
directions, we take the left turn into Warren Street, and traverse 
a part of the ground covered in Walk a. At Heath Street, turn- 
ing to the right, as in that walk (the left leads to Chestnut HiU and 
Newton, an interesting by-walk), we pass by the opening of Pound 
Street where we then turned, and continue on to the finish of 
Heath Street in the square formed by its junction with Boylston 
Street and Chestnut Hill Avenue. Now taking Boylston Street 
to the right, we stroll down this stately thoroughfare as far as the 
old Boylston mansion-house, opposite the westerly end of the reser- 






.\ 







The old Boylston house. 



voir, passing, along the way, the Channing Hospital estate at the 
Chestnut Hill Avenue corner, and next beyond Fisher Avenue, 
the ivy-covered house of Henry M. Whitney. The Boylston house, 
occupying a sightly spot on the hill -slope, in a grove of trees, with 
box hedge along the front garden, winding avenue leading to the 
front door, makes a pleasant picture in the landscape. It stands 
on the site of the first Boylston homestead — the house of Thomas 
Boylston, 2d, surgeon, settled here in 1665. He was the father of a 
numerous family, among his sons the eminent Dr. Zabdiel Boyls- 
ton, and his daughters, Susanna, who married John Adams of 
Braintree, and became the mother of President John Adams. 
Dr. Zabdiel, late in life, purchased the old homestead from his 



296 BROOKLINE. 

brother Peter, who, as the eldest son, inherited it. The present 
house was built by him, and here he lived as a country gentleman 
for the remainder of his years. His farm on this hillside was cele- 
brated for its breed of horses. After Dr. Boylston's death in 1706 
the estate was boug-ht by William Hyslop, a wealthy Boston mer- 
chant, who occupied it until his death, and his son after him, 
during which time it was called the Hyslop place. During the 
Revolution Provincial troops were quartered in the old house. In 
the elder Hyslop's day it was noted for its hospitality. Hyslojj's 
daughter was the wife of Governor Increase Sumner. The old 
place is now known as the Lee estate, occupied by George Lee. 

Back toward the square we should take the reservoir side for 
the view. At Fisher Avenue we turn and mount Fisher Hill. 
On the summit the best point of view is the path along the edge of 
the reservoir here (Boston high service water-works), at the left 
of the avenue. It is an interesting view but not extensive, near- 
by house-roofs and tree-tops narrowing it to parts only of the cir- 
cuit. Pretty little views are to be had from the fields at the right 
of the roadway. Bej'^ond the reservoir the view from the avenue 
broadens agreeably. We pass Buckminster Road on the hill- 
slope, and turn from the avenue into Dean Road, at the right, by 
which curving road, with fine views of country and town, we make 
our way over the railroad bridge to Beacon boulevard in the val- 
ley. We enter the boulevard a little way above the several '' Ter- 
races," — improved city blocks, with stable, casino, and other 
features for common use of their residents, — and within a short 
walk of Corey Hill, the elevation in the left distance. Summit 



-^.. 






4 




Corey Hill. 

Avenue over Corey Hill is a pleasant thoroughfare from which 
are fair prospects. Our walk ends on the boulevard, and we 
make the return trip by electric car. 



BROOK LINE. 297 

Walk c. The beginning of this walk, largelj' through woods, is 
in the AVest Roxbury District. We go out by steam car (Park 
square station) to " Central." Crossing to Centre Street, the 
main thorouglifare north of the station, we strike into Church 
Street, which opens from Centre Street by the side of the old 
"Parker Church." [See Walk No. 30.] We find ourselves at 
once in pleasant parts. The fair fields and pastures of the Weld 
Farm, covering many acres, lie on either side of the road for some 
distance, on one side backed by thick groves. At the left the line 
of the proposed parkway between the Arboretum and the Stony 
Brook Woods crosses the farm. Our way along Church Street is 
beneath rich foliage. Rock maple and elm trees, generally alter- 
nating, line both sides, sometimes overarching. Poison ivy here and 
there twines in masses over the side stone walls. Crossing Weld 
Street, yet a rural road, extending to the left, into the Brook 
Farm neighborhood [see Walk No. 3(]], and to the right toward 
the Arboretum, we pass the Weld farm-house, on the corner, and 
after a short walk are over the boundarj^ line in Brookline. Here 
Church Street becomes South Street. On the field side, by the 
boundary stone, at the left, note the group of sj'mmetrical oaks. 
These were purchased in war times for use in war-ship building, 
but fortunately for us they escaped the axe. It is still the Weld 
Farm on either side of the road. A little farther on we pass the 
summer place of Colonel Theodore A. Dodge, tlie military critic 
and historian, on the right side, in a spot of much natural beauty. 
On the left, as we enter more open country, is the little Weld 
Pond, prettily filling out the landscape ; across the deep meadow 
a band of woods. Beyond, Baldpate in Newton appears ; and Wal- 
nut Hill rises picturesquely, coming more fully into view as we 
walk. 

Our road continues to Newton Street, passing Grove Street, 
which is distinguished by the finest and loftiest " cathedral arch " 
of trees in this part of the country about Boston. We leave it, 
however, before the turn of Grove Street and make for the Avoods 
at the distant left. These are reached by cross lots. They ex- 
tend for two miles and more toward the long thoroughfare of 
Newton Street, crossed at about the middle by Lagrange Street, 
which comes over from West Roxburj^ Village. Cart-paths pene- 
trate them, and there are a few foot-paths, but these are narrow 
and not always clearly marked. It is not practicable to outline a 
definite route. 

Striking a cart-path at the southwestern corner, which crosses 
the Brookline pipe line laid through the woods, we should bear 
generally to the northwestward, coming out eventually on La- 



298 BROOKLIXE. 

grange Street not far from the Xewton line. These are fragrant 
woods, coverinsr hillsides, dipping into swamps, crossing valleys, 
with here and there a spring, singing brooks, some snperb boid- 
ders, and magnificent crags. Along the cart-path and as we pene- 
trate northward through the tangled tmdergrowth, we note many 
handsome beech, black birch, hemlock, white oak. and elm trees. 
Two cedar swamps, not common in this region, one near the pipe 
line off from the cart-path, the other farther on to the northward, 
have all the characteristics in tree. fern, and plant growth of such 
swamps. By the side of the cart-path are the infrequent tnpelo tree, 
the red oak. the chestnut, hombeanu hemlock, basswood. We 
spring across a narrow brook alongside the cart-path. and. taking 
a slender-lined foot-path, ptish through the thickets generally 
northward. Here we are in woods of red oak. ash. great pines. 
Coming to an open, on high ground, we have on our left a belt of 
woods in which is a famotis dead oak. a bound referred to as the 
" dead oak "* in mmierous old deeds. It is a rugged ruin, bearing 
the grim marks of time, and with rude cuttings on its ancient 
tmnk. Beyond the open, still bearing northward, we presently 
enter a magnificent piece of hemlock and pine woods spreading 
over a hillside. Many trees of large growth, and towering to lofty 
height, are here, and we tread a carpet of sweet needles. At the 
farther edge we approach a great ledge in a frame of splendid trees. 
Mounting it we have from its smninit, at an open point, a view of 
fair extent to distant hills. Baldpate in Xewton. with its curiotis 
rotmd sktill-like top showing through the trees, almost covering it, 
appears in clear outline. Close to the outer edge of the ledge are a 
htige birch and a great pine. This ledge is an enchanting spot. 
Under the shade of its side trees, with the view in front, one may 
spend delightsomely the tranquil hours of a summer day. A rough 
path winds arotmd it and by its long face, fronting a ralley and 
swamp, from which it rises about forty feet. Rich lichens cover it. 
and varied flora are at its base. Beyond, the path enters a series 
of pretty ravines. A little stream flows by. alongside of which 
clematis grows and forget-me-nots. Down the hill slope we come 
to a wood path broadening almost to a lane, and so reach La- 
grange .Street. 

At Lagrange Street we are a short distance above the junction 
with Xewton Street ito the right', where Hammond Street takes 
np the line of Lagrange Street and continues to Heath Street. 
We are to avoid the highway, however, and keep to the woods. 
.So we cross Lagrange Street and take the wood road into the 
woods on the opposite side. Our course is now for a little way near 
the Xewton line, at the left, northwestward. A short walk brings 



BROOKLIXE. 299 

us to the lower part of Newton Street, close to the Xewton-Brook- 
line bound. By the loop of abandoned road, at the left, pictu- 
resque throughout, we may reach the site of the old saw-mill, long 
a landmark and the last of its kind in these parts to go. It is but 
a few rods from the highway near the farther turn of the loop, at 
the right. There are yet traces of the old dam and the race-way, 
while the brook still courses by. On the opposite side stood the old 
mill-house with its garden and orchard, marked now hy clumps of 
domestic shrubs and remnants of apple and plum trees. Crossing 
Xewton Street at the end of the loop, we enter another wood road 
running northward. At the first fork, bearing to the right, we 
reach the brink of the Ponica Meadow surrotmded by a little forest. 
Then bearing to the left, through the thickets, we come again to 
the main cart-path, and a quarter of a mile or so beyond are at the 
finish of this section of woods, at Heath Street. 

A pleasant road walk of about half a mile by Heath Street (to 
the right). Woodland Road, and Hammond Street takes us to 
Chestnut Hill station, from which we return to Boston by steam 
car. 



West Roxbury. 



From Boston proper to Jamaica Plain, by electric car, 4 miles ; fare, 5 
cents ; by steam car [N. Y., N. H. & H., Prov. Div.], 3/jj miles ; fare, 8 cents. 
Return from West Roxbury Village, Spring Street station [Dedham Br.], 7y% 
miles ; fare, 15 cents ; by electric cars, fare, 10 cents. 

Walk jVo. 36. In Jamaica Plain ; Jamaica Park ; by historic mansion-houses ; 
along Centre Street toward West Roxbury Village ; in Lenders Lane ; through 
the Arnold Arboretum ; over the old stage route ; by the " Parker Church ; " 
through West Roxbury Village, past the old tavern, the "Parker house;" 
across to Brook Farm ; on Cow Island ; back to the village bounds. 

The West Roxbury District forms the extreme southwesterly part of Bos- 
ton. It was the Second Parish of Roxbury from 170G to 1851, when it became 
a separate town, and was annexed to Boston in ISTi. The district includes 
about 7850 acres of territory, a large part of which is highland. Within its 
limits are Jamaica Park, the Arnold Arboretum, and Franklin Park, parts of 
tlie chain of Boston parks ; Mt. Bellevue (348 feet), the highest of the hills 
of Boston ; the Stony Brook Reservation of the Metropolitan Parks system ; 
the beautiful Forest Hills Cemetery ; and "Brook Farm," the place where 
the famous experiment in socialism was tried in 1841-47, and the scene of 
Hawthorne's " Blithedale Romance." Although joined to the city for nearly 
a quarter of a century. West Roxbury has slowly assumed metropolitan waj'S, 
and in the neighborhood of some of its most traveled thoroughfares country 
siglits and sounds are yet to be enjoyed. Off from the highways, green lanes 
and rural by-ways are chanced upon ; and many of its roads, well shaded, 
often with overarching trees, liave exceptional charms. The most rural parts 
are in the West Roxbury Village section, west of Mt. Bellevue. The district 
is divided into tlie precincts of Jamaica Plain, Roslindale, Clarendon Hills, 
West Roxbury Village, and Germantown. Jamaica Plain, the first part settled, 
was given its name in commemoration of Cromwell's conquest of the island 
of Jamaica. Before that time it was called Pond Plain, from the pond on its 
borders. The West Roxbury and Dedham brandies of the Prov. Div., N. Y., 
N. H. & H., pass through the heart of the district, while electric car lines 
cover Jamaica Plain and West Roxbury Village. 

Our walk begins in Jamaica Plain, the most northerly imrt of 
the district. If we go out by steam ear, we are dropped at the 
station in the business quarter of the village, while the electric 
car will take us directly into Centre Street, the main highway, 
which winds across the length of the district to Dedham. The 
pleasantest electric car route is that by way of the Back Bay, 
Columbus Avenue Extension, Pynchon and Centre streets (yellow 
cars marked Jamaica Plain, via Huntington Avenue). The Forest 
Hills lines pass along the east side of the "Plain," ending near 
Forest Hills Cemetery, at the left of the thoroughfare, and Forest 
Hills station, at the right, within a few minutes' walk of the 
Arnold Arboretum. Franklin Park lies to the north of Forest 
Hills. The Forest Hills lines connect with electric lines to Roslin- 
dale and West Roxbury, and to Hyde Park, Dedham, and Read- 
ville. If we are driving out, or on horseback or bicycle, the 
approach should be by the Park roads along the Back Bay Fens, 
the River way and Jamaicaway, by Leverett and Jamaica Parks, 



WEST ROXBURY. 301 

to Eliot Street, and thence to the square at the junction of Centre 
and South streets, through which the electric lines pass. 

Going out by electric car line, we leave the ear at the junction 
of Perkins and Day streets with Centre Street, where the latter 
sweeps around to the left, and take Perkins Street to Jamaica 
Park, thence following the coui'se along Jamaicaway indicated for 
the drive to Eliot Street and the Centre. The buildings occupy- 
ing the corner of Perkins and Day streets constitute the kinder- 
garten department of the Perkins Institution for the Blind, the 
main buildings of which are in South Boston. On Perkins Street 
we at once enter favoi'ed parts. Over to the right we have now 
and again fair views, and as we proceed we pass fine old estates, 
close pressed, at times, by modern structures. We may, if we 
are so minded, keep Perkins Street beyond Jamaicaway to the 
entrance steps to Pine Bank on the pond side, and by cross-path 
over Pine Bank join Jamaicaway at a point farther up. Pleasant 
foot-paths, under shading trees, along the banks and the shore of 
the glinting pond, follow the carriage and bicycle road by Jamaica- 
way. A short distance beyond the opening of Eliot Street, Arbor- 
way, connecting Jamaica Park with the Arnold Arboretum, makes 
off in a graceful curve to the left. Eliot Street is one of the jolea- 
santest of the many pleasant short streets of the " Plain," rich in 
trees. 

The square at the Centre and South streets junction was in 
town days the municipal centre of West Roxbury. Where the 
Soldiers' Monument stands was the first school-house, set up in 
1G75. The stone church (Unitarian) is the successor of the first 
meeting-house, built nearly a century after the school-house, in 
1770, when the Jamaica Plain parish was established as the Third 
Parish of Roxbury. The handsome old mansion-house facing the 
square, to-day in almost as perfect condition as Avhen erected in 
1758, is the historic Loring-Greenough. house, headquarters of 
General Nathaniel Greene, in May, 1775, for a part of June occu- 
pied by Captain Pond's company, of Wrentham, and during the 
siege of Boston used as a hospital for the Roxbury cami). The 
soldiers who died here were buried in a field just back of the house, 
and their graves remained undisturbed until 18(ji or 1865, when 
their bones were removed to the town cemetery. 

The mansion was built by Commodore Joshua Loring, a native of Roxbury, 
who did gallant service in the British navy, in tlse campaigns against Canada. 
He was at the siege of Quebec, and later was severely wounded while in com- 
mand on Lake Ontario, when he was retired on half pa}'. He was a royalist 
and a "mandamus" councillor ; and on the morning of the Lexington fight 
he left his home and everything belonging to it, and, mounting his horse, 
"with pistol in hand, rode at full speed to Boston." He never returned, 



102 



JVIJST ROXBURY. 



but, sailing for England at the evacuation, settled in Higligate. When subse- 
quently the house was sold as confiscated property, at the Bunch of Grapes 
Tavern, iu Boston, the estate was described as containing gardens, with the 
mansion-house, fine fruit trees, and sixty-five acres of mowing land. At this 




Loriiig-Greenough House. 



sale it was purchased by Colonel Isaac Sears, a successful Boston merchant, 
who had been a zealous Son of Liberty, and a member of the Provincial Con- 
gress. From him it was bought by the Widow Ann Doane, and it came into 
the possession of the Greenoughs through her marriage in 1784 with David S. 
Greenough, son of Thomas Greenough, who had been a member of the Com- 
mittee of Correspondence in the Revolution. The house has since remained 
in the Greenough family. 

Following Centre Street to tlie riglit from the square, our long 
walk toward West Roxbury Village begins. A few rods beyond 
we pass, on the right, another of the few remaining houses of the 
Provincial or early Republic periods, when "the Plain" was a 
place of country seats. This house, of the conventional type of 
the latter period, square, of two stories, with central entrance 
porch, and balustrade along the roof line, dates from 1805. It was 
built by Stephen Gorham, a Boston merchant, and a Boston mer- 
chant of to-day now occupies it. For a long period it was the estate 
of Moses Williams, and is yet locally knoAvn as the " old Williams 
house." Next beyond, on the same side of the way, was John 
Hancock's summer seat. 

We shortly reach the Arborway, by which, at the left, we may 



WEST ROXBURY. 303 

enter the Arboretum and traverse its length from north to south 
by circuitous paths ; but as we are tending, we save steps, and see 
more of the country, by keeping the main road for half a mile or 
so farther, to the upper entrance. 

The Arnold Arboretum, distinguished as the finest tree museum in the 
world, is the territory of the Bussey Institution, the School of Agriculture 
and Horticulture of Harvard University, and is made a public pleasure- 
ground, — part of the Boston Public Park system, — through an agreement 
between the city of Boston and the University, under which the University 
maintains and develops it, the city caring for the public roadways and paths 
which it has constructed. The park covers an area of 155 acres, has about 
two miles of driveways, and four miles of walks. The great variety of trees 
cultivated here are so planted and cared for as to assure the most favorable 
development through all stages of their growtli, thus facilitating the .study of 
their characteristics, while the most beautiful features of the natural forest, 
within the inclosure, have been preserved. The buildings of the Bussey In- 
stitution, including the Bussey Museum, which contains the herbarium and 
specimens of various woods, are at the southeast end of the park. The Arbor- 
way passes near them and continues over to Franklin Park. The Arboretum 
was named for James Arnold, of New Bedford, who gave by will to the Uni- 
versity $100,000 for the establishment of a professorship of tree culture. It 
includes the estate of Benjamin Bussey, bequeathed, with a special fund, to 
the University, for the school which bears his name. 

Above the Arborway crossing, Centre Street, with a sweep to 
the left, ascends higher ground, where the side estates become 
ampler and the views broader. Soon we pass, on the left, the 
Adams Nervine Asylum, and its serene grounds studded with 
beautiful trees. At the right, where the main road makes a dip 
into the valley, Louders Lane makes off over the highland, and 
it opens so picturesquely that we must explore it. It turns, we 
find, and follows the splendid hill-slope for perhaps a quarter of 
a mile, to a gate with a turnstile, beyond which, however, there 
is no thoroughfare, although the cart-roads go on, for the warning 
sign, " All Persons Entering and Crossing this Land will be Prose- 
cuted," confronts us. The hill-slope at the right and the pool in 
the hollow at the left are alluring, but we turn away from them 
back through the turnstile, reluctantly, for the sign further warns, 
"You are Requested Not to Pick the Lilies." It is a real lane, 
with grassy sides and trees and wild growths worth the treading 
up and back for themselves alone. 

Again on Centre Street, m'c swing down hill and up again, and on 
the rise come to the upper Arboretum entrance. Here we enter 
the heart of the old Bussey Woods. First let us ascend Bussey 
Hill, the height over to the left, taking the first turn from the 
main way in that direction. The driveway makes up the hill in 
a long curve, and circles the summit to the " Concourse," where 
we have a rich view, embracing the Blue Hills and a glimpse of 
" Boston proper." Rejoining the main way, either by the road up 



504 



WEST ROXBURY. 



which we came or by cross-paths to points farther along, we follow 
this way to the foot of Hemlock Mount, within a few rods of 
South Street on the eastern border of the park. Here another 
broad way leads off to the right, into which we turn close by the 




An Entrance to the Arboretum. 



jocund brook running from a chalybeate spring. Then, taking a 
narrow path just above the brook, marked by a handsome red 
maple, we bear to the left, then to the right, and so wear n\) the 
steep grade underneath pines so large and stately as to seem almost 
of the primitive growth. Reaching the top of the mount, we are 
completely surrounded by majestic trees, in "dark, dim. Dante- 
like solitudes." A few feet from the back and to the south of 
the eminence, is an opening through which, taking position on 
the rocks at the edge, with rather precipitous front, we may gain 
one of the most attractive views of the Blue Hills anywhere in 
these parts to be seen. From this opening our course is to the 
southwest, passing a small cairn-like heai) of stones, a pathetic 
little monument erected to commemorate a long-ago tragedy in 
this lovely region, — the mysterious murder of the Joyce children, 
bi'other and sister, in 18G5. Striking a path leading to a narrow 
wood road, we follow this road down the hill, coming out, shortly, 
on Bussey Street near the quarries, on the farther side. 

Our way continues up this street to the light, to Walter Street, 
where the Park road from which we ascended Hemlock Mount 



WEST ROXBURY. 



305 



ends ; thence up Walter Street, left, to Weld Street, and so to 
Centre Street again, well on toward West Roxbury Village. ^Wal- 
ter Street is part of the old post-road from Boston, and was once 
picturesque throughout, with its varying grades bordered by fine 
trees. Weld Street goes on through pleasant country toward 




— -^^^^^ 

View ill the Arboretitm. 

Brook Farm, which Ave shall reach by another way. Peters Hill, 
to the left of Walter Street, is now a part of the Arboretum Park, 
having been given to the city of Boston in 1894 by Harvard 
University, to which it had come under the Bussey bequest. Just 
above "Weld Sti-eet on the left side of Walter Street, is an ancient 
burying-ground, now neglected and forlorn, which is well worth 
a passing glance, for on this bleak hillside are graves of some of 
the earlier settlers. 

At the junction of Centre and South Streets we are within the 
limits of West Roxbury Village. The abandoned church facing 
Centre Street, now a dismantled but yet stately Wren tower, is 
the old Second Parish meeting-house, an historic structure, most 
distinguished as the church of Theodore Parker during the first 
nine years of his ministry as a settled pascor (1837-4(5). It was the 
second meeting-house of the parisli (the Second Parish of Rox- 
bury, established 1712), the first one having been adjacent to the 
old graveyard on the bleak hill on Walter Street, which, by the 
way, was named for the first minister, the Rev. Nathaniel Walter, 



306 WEST ROXBURY. 

son of the Rev. Nehemiali Walter, Eliot's successor in the Rox- 
bury church. The main body or auditorium of this meeting-house 
was built in 1773, and it was enlarged to its present form in 1821, 
when the vestibule and steeple were added. There have been but 
slight changes in either the exterior or the interior since. Within 
these walls the farmer soldiers of the Revolution were addressed 
by the minister on their departure. When Parker preached here 
the parish was small, but "the people" he found "good, quiet, 
sober, church-going, — capital listeners, none better." " I preach," 
he wrote in one of his letters, "abundant heresies, and they all 
go down, for the listeners do not know how heretical they are." 
Parker's pulpit is preserved in the present meeting-house of the 
parish, farther up Centre Street, near the corner of Corey Street. 
Church Street, at the side of the church, starts out picturesquely 
to Brookline [see Walk No. 35] ; and Station Street, nearly opposite, 
leads down to Central Station, on the railroad, from which, across 
the track, it is but a few steps to the electric car line. 

We now follow Centre Street through the village. From the 
" Parker church " onward, Avith its elms and bordering home- 
steads, it is a typical New England country town street, although 
now one of the thoroughfai*es of the city. In the latter days of 
stage-coaching it was the route taken by the coaches of the Provi- 
dence line to avoid the hills of the Boston and Providence turn- 
pike (the present Washington Street, built about 1805), which ran 
in nearly a straight line the entire distance, going over the hills in- 
stead of around them. In order to avoid the steep, hard pull up 
and over the east side of Muddy Pond Hill (now Mt, Bellevue, 
which we observe to the left of Centre Street, with its tower [see 
Walk No. 37] ), the heavy coaches left the turnpike at Taft's Tav- 
ern (still standing, but cut down to one story, and long since made 
a dwelling), at the junction of Washington and South streets, and 
passed through West Roxbury Village, half or three-quarters of a 
mile farther. 

The " accommodation " stages left Boston at 8 A. m. and reached Provi- 
dence at 4 p. M., in time for the boat to New York ; but for business men, 
and those willing to pay double fare, an " express " was put on, leaving Bos- 
ton at noon and making the run to Providence, about forty-one miles, in four 
hours. Special coaches were built for this service, no heavy baggage was 
allowed, and four relays of horses did the work. The first change was made 
at the Phenix Tavern, in Dedham. The driver stopped, threw down his reins 
without leaving the box, a man was stationed at either door of the coach, to 
prevent passengers from getting out ; four men took off the horses, four 
others put in the fresh ones, another handed the reins to the driver, and in 45 
seconds the horses were on the gallop again. Old Dr. Thayer, who kept an 
apothecary shop opposite the tavern, timed the stopping of the stage repeat- 
edly in three-quarters of a minute to the dot. 

The old West Roxbury Village tavern is also standing, now, like 



WEST ROXBURY. 307 

Taft's, an humble dwelling. It is well into the village, — the an- 
cient house on the left side of Centre Street, in the hollow by the 
railroad bridge, under the shadow of a venei*able elm. Viewed 
from the bridge the side with the long lean-to on the back part, 
more picturesque than the front, appears. This tavern was much 
favored in pre-revolutionary days by British officers, several of 
whom left their marks on its window panes and looking-glasses, 
cut with the diamonds of their finger rings. One of the looking- 
glasses, showing on its face a number of autographs of King 
George's men, is preserved, with other interesting relics, by one of 
the older residents of West Roxbury. 

Lagrange Street, at the right, by the West Roxbury station, is 
the way — or one way — to Brook Farm. But before turning, we 
should keep Centre Street a while longer, to pass the " clever 
house " which Theodore Parker occupied during his West Roxbury 
settlement, and enjoy neighboring pleasant parts. The " Parker 
house " is at the corner of Centre Street and Cottage Avenue, — 
which might better have been called lane, — at the left. Although 
enlarged and embellished since Parker's time, the main outlines 
of the cheerful dwelling are much the same now as then. The 
large study, " with flowers looking in at the windows in summer, 
and the sunlight streaming through the glass in winter, and room 
for friends as well as folios," was the southwest corner room of 
the second floor. Here domiciled, Parker was close to cultivated 
and sympathetic neighbors. A path from his garden gate at the 
back of the house led "directly to their gardens and Aveleoming 
doors." Among them were the families of the old Boston mer- 
chants, George R. Russell and Francis G. Shaw, whose fine es- 
tates lay on the upland along the lane. These estates yet remain 
in part unbroken, though tenanted no longer by the old families ; 
and before turning back to Lagrange Street, we may well stroll 
up the lane and take a look at them. It is a short rural walk into 
a cluster of woods, through the opening of which are little views. 

From Parker's house to Brook Farm, was a walk of about a 
mile by short cuts across the fields before the country round abovit 
was built up ; but now, by the roads, it is nearer a mile and a half. 
By following the Lagrange Street route we miss the " Parker 
Oak" (on Pelhajn Street), —so called because it was the bound of 
Parker's favorite summer walk, in his day occupying a sightly 
point, from which was an unobstructed view over valley and hills, 
— but we probably see the country more as it was at the time 
of the Brook Farmers. Another way and shorter is by Spring 
Street (opening from Centre Street a few rods above the Parker 
house) to Gardner Street, the third at the right ; thence to Baker 
Street, which leads directly to the farm. 



308 WEST ROXBURY. 

Taking the Lagrange Street way, we follow this road for about 
half a mile to Weld IStreet, turn here to the left, continue down 
Weld Street for a short distance to Baker Street, and so on to the 
farm. The way increases in picturesqueness as the farm is ap- 
proached. Although some change in its surroundings has been 
wrought dviring the half century since the issue of the communi- 
ty's circular, it may yet be described as situated in a "place of 
great natural beauty, combining a convenient nearness to the city 
with a degree of retirement and freedom from unfavorable influ- 
ences unusual even in the country." The farm, indeed, is some- 
what worn and barren ; and the Orphans' Home building, extended 
from the old farm-house, or " The Hive " of the Brook Farmers, 
is not lovely. But the land lies "in swelling slopes" as it lay in 
their time. The brook goes on as it went on then. The old lanes, 
and the foot-paths into the " shadowy woodland," are still dis- 
tinct. The pine woods where Rollings worth, Zenobia, Priscilla, 
and Miles Coverdale were wont to stroll are still intact. "Eliot's 
pulpit " is still there, unchanged. Beyond, we shall find the pool 
where broken-hearted Zenobia drowned herself. By the roadside 
near the bridge over the brook still stands the old " Tom Orange " 
farm-honse, where Hawthorne was more at home than at "The 
Hive " during his year in the community. 

Crossing the bridge we enter the farm by the open lane from the 
public road, with the brook coursing through the meadows on the 
one side, and the house on the knoll on the other. We have a 
choice of pleasant walks. We may follow the brook across the 
meadows to the river banks which mark the western boundary of 
the farm ; or wind around the buildings into the lane beyond 
them, and up the gentle "lise," looking back occasionally to ad- 
mire the outspreading views ; or, from the lane, strike paths into 
the woods. 

The pulpit rock where Eliot preached to his Indian flock, and 
about which, two centuries after, the Brook Farmers gathered for 
service on summer Sundays, is in the heart of these woods, and 
may be reached by any of the wood paths, but that from the lane 
nearest the buildings is perhaps the most direct. The rock stands 
to-day as Hawthorne sketched it nearly fifty years ago : rising 
"some twenty or thirty feet, a shattered granite boulder, or heap 
of boulders, with an irregular outline and many fissures," out of 
which spring " shrubs, bushes, and even trees, as if the scanty soil 
within their crevices were sweeter to their roots than any other 
earth," and " overshadowed by the canopy of a birch tree which 
served as a sounding-board for the pulpit." Not far away from 
the pulpit, toward the southerly and wilder part of the woods, is 



WEST ROXBURY. 309 

a cluster of mysterious graves beneath ancient pines, unmarked 
save by rough head and foot stones. Some persons have surmised 
these to be graves of Christian Indians, There is also a tradition 
that victims of a scourge, about the middle of the eighteenth cen- 
tury, were brought from Dedham and buried here in the depths 
of the then remote foi'est. But they are mounds, more likely, of 
a later date ; probably graves of paupers from the Roxbury poor- 
liouse. From their unusual size it is conjectured that each was 
the common grave of a number of the dead. 

Near by, in swampy jilaces, are ricli growths of wood vines, 
ferns of delicate texture holding their vivid green until early win- 
ter, and violets in their season in profusion ; Avliile in various parts 
of the woods are to be found the columbine and other of the more 
retiring species of wild flowers. 

Of the community's buildings none is left save " The Hive," tfhe 
common house, and, as we have seen, a part of the Orphans' Home. 
"The Eyry," where the boarding-school was kept, which stood 
nearest "The Hive," "The Cottage," with its four gables, in 
which the younger children were taught, "The Pilgrim House," 
for family lodging, most distant of the group, " The Workshop," 
for mechanics of several trades, which stood near the barn, — 
all long since disappeared. "The Philanstery," intended for a 
common building, the most ambitious of the community's enter- 
prises and the last, was erected near " The Hive." Its burning, 
when almost ready for occupancj^ was the final disaster which 
brought the experiment to an end. 

The Brook Farm experiment was the outcome of discussions in the Tran- 
scendental Club of Boston, and was a sincere attempt — the first in the coun- 
try — by educated and cultivated men and women to make a practical trial 
of the principle of association. George Ripley, the founder, had been a 
clergyman in Boston, pastor of a refined parish, and, "pierced and wounded 
by the sense of social abuses," had left his profession, " impatient with the 
'foolishness of preaching,' " sold his fine library at auction, and embarked all 
that he had in this enterprise. Witli him went his wife, his eldest sister, 
Marianne Ripley, who had successfully conducted a private school in Boston, 
George P. Bradford, Minot Pratt, John S. Dwlght, afterward editor of 
Dwight's "Journal of Music," Warren Burton, and a few others, Charles A. 
Dana, subsequently of tlie " New York Sun," and Nathaniel Hawthorne soon 
joining them. At the fullest the community numbered about eighty per- 
sons. Changes in the membership were frequent, but Mr. Ripley and several 
of the earliest in the undertaking remainecl steadfast tl)rough the six years 
of its existence. It was organized in 1841 as "The Brook Farm Institute of 
Education and Agriculture," but was subsequently incorporated as " The 
Brook Farm Phalanx." The articles of agreement defined its objects to be : 
" To establish the external relations of life on a basis of wisdom and purity : 
to apply the principles of justice and love in our social organization in accord- 
ance with the laws of Divine Providence : to substitute a system of brotherly 
cooperation for one of selfish competition : to secure to our children and to 
those who may be intrusted to our care the benefits of the highest physical, 
intellectual, and moral education in the present state of human knowledge 
the resources at our command will permit : to institute an attractive, effi- 



310 WEST ROXBURY. 

cient, and productive system of industry : to prevent the exercise of worldly 
anxiety by tLe competent supply of our necessary wants : to diminish the 
desire of excessive accumulation by making the acquisition of individual 
property subservient to upright and disinterested uses : to guarantee to each 
other the means of physical support and of spiritual progress, and thus to 
impart a greater freedom, simplicity, truthfulness, refinement, and moral dig- 
nity to our mode of life." . . . 

The products of the farm were in common, and the outdoor and indoor la- 
bors were equably divided among the members. Ever}' pupil of the boarding- 
school — or academy, for the higher branches were taught here to botli sexes, 
and youths were fitted for college — was also required to spend a specified 
time each day in manual labor. After the community had been under way 
for about two years, tlie Fourier system of industrial organization was in part 
introduced, but never fully. Life at the Farm must have had many delights 
as well as perplexities. The associationists enjoyed good living, while high 
thinking and pleasure were faiily mixed with toil. Brilliant guests from the 
city were frequent, men and women of letters, artists, musicians. Parker 
was a constant visitor. Emerson came occasionally, and Margaret Fuller, 
Cranch with his violin, and others as interesting in tlieir day. The chronicles 
tell of frequent entertainments by the younger members : of musicals, dances, 
masquerades, boating parties on the river, and picnics in the woods. But the 
affairs of the community were at no time prosperous, and as a financial 
venture it was disastrous. The farm when purchased was a milk farm of 
about two hundred acres. This business was continued by the associationists, 
but without profit. 

After its abandonment by the associationists Brook Farm fell for a while 
upon evil days. It was its sorry fate to be bouglit by Roxbury for a poor 
farm. Subsequently, however, it passed to other hands, and in course of 
time James Freeman Clarke became its owner. Wlien the Civil War broke 
out he offered it to Colonel, afterward General George H. Gordon, for the 
camp of the Second Massachusetts Regiment, and it was so occupied through 
tlie spring and early summer of 18G1, under the name of Camp Andrew, so 
called for the war governor, who had been among the many brilliant minds 
attracted to the Brook Farmers, but not enrolled as members of their com- 
munity. Dr. Clarke used to say that in this period the farm produced its 
best crop. The Martin Luther Orphan Home was established here in 1871, 
when the place came under the control of the " Association of the Evangelical 
Lutheran Church for Works of Mercy." 

We might return from the farm to West Roxbury Village by 
the shorter way^ — through Baker, Gardner, and Spring Streets ; 
or, extending our walk over to Cow Island, which lies to the south- 
east of the farm, there take High Street to Gardner Street. Cow 
Island (an island only in time of spring freshets) is an eminence 
on the side of the Charles at a point where the river spreads out 
into quite a bay, — its widest part, — and overlooks a pleasant 
region. 

We take return train for Boston at Spring Street station, or elec- 
tric car on Centre Street, which connects at Forest Hills with the 
West End lines. 



. •' stony Brook Woods and Region. 

From Boston proper to Bellevue Hill by steam car [N. Y., N. H. & H., Prov. 
Div. Dedhain Br.], to Highland station, West Roxbury District, 7 miles; 
fare, 14 cents ; by electric car [Forest Hills lines connecting with the West 
Roxbury and Roslindale, Dedham Div., line], about 7 miles; fare, 10 cents. 
Return from Hyde Park station [Prov. Div.], fare, 15 cents ; or from Hazel- 
wood station, fare, 15 cents. 

A third approach to the Woods is possible from Clarendon Hills [Prov. 
Div., main line, or Norfolk Suburban, electric line, from Forest Hills, on Hyde 
Park avenue], through Dale Street to Poplar Street, thence by various wood 
paths southeasterly to Turtle Pond. 

Walk No. 37. Covers Bellevue Hill ; the length of Stony Brook Reserva- 
tion to the Readville exit ; a piece of the west side ; the Pine Woods to West 
Street ; the road to Hazelwood station. 

Tlie Stony Brook Reservation is a public forest park, of the Metropolitan 
[State] Parks system, established in 1894. It lies in the Stony Brook valley 
and comprises the Muddy Pond Woods (renamed by the Park Commissioners 
Stony Brook Woods), so called from Muddy Pond (renamed Turtle Pond) in 
the heart of the little wilderness, the source of Stony Brook, long most trou- 
blesome of streams because of its sudden risings, which, now mostly under 
cover, reaches salt water at the Back Bay Fens. It is a tract of striking 
beauty, embracing 475 acres of rolling and rocky woodland, highland, and 
swamps, unbroken, save at one end where Washington Street cuts across it, 
and by various wood roads or paths. From its numerous elevations are 
charming views, notably vistas of the noble procession of Blue Hills above 
the neighboring Neponset valley. The territory lies partly in the West Rox- 
bury District of Boston (190 acres), and partly in the town of Hyde Park (285 
acres), and is inclosed by the main line of the Providence Division railroad on 
one side, and the Dedham Branch of this division on the other, so that it is 
easy of access from the city proper by steam as well as by electric railway. 
Boulevards, or parkways, connecting the reservation in one direction with the 
Arnold Arboretum of the Boston parks sjstem, and in another with the Blue 
Hills Reservation of the Metropolitan system, have been marked out and are 
in part under construction. The trip out and back and the exploration of the 
region in a leisurely fashion can be accomplished in a summer's afternoon. 

Going out by steam car to Highland station, the reservation 
may be entered by way of Bellevue Hill. If the electric car ride 
out be taken, the car should be left at the top of the steep rise on 
Washington Street at the foot of Bellevue Hill, from which point, 
on the opposite side, are the entrance paths. By the former route 
we can cover the hill and enjoy the circuit view from the observa- 
tory on the summit, while by the latter we shall miss this cheer- 
ful outlook unless we choose, before entering the woods, to go up 
the hill and down again by the same way. 

Bellevue Hill (formerly Muddy Pond Hill) is the highest point 
of land within the limits of Boston (347 feet), ci'owned by a water 
tower of the Boston water-works, which is a conspicuous object 
in the landscape for miles around. The approach from Highland 
station is pleasant. Public carriages make the short journey to 
the summit for twenty-five cents a passenger ; but the better way 



312 STONY BROOK WOODS AND REGION. 

is to walk lip, taking- Park or Bellevue Street. It is an easy climb, 
the roadway winding gently toward the summit. When the West 
Roxhury jiarkway, connecting the Boston with the Metropolitan 
parks system, is completed, this will be the regular approach, pas- 
sengers leaving the steam car at Central station, one station this 
side (going out) of Highland station. The line of this boulevard, 
coming over from the Arnold Arboretum, sweeps close to Central 
station, runs over Bellevue Hill to Washington Street, slightly 
above Beech Street, through which the electric line by way of 
Roslindale, connecting with Boston lines, passes. 

The tower on Bellevue Hill is ojien till sunset every day, and 
on Sundays from one o'clock to the sunset hour. The view from 
its " outlook " embraces the near and distant country, cities, towns, 
and villages, encircling hills, and far-away mountain peaks. In a 
clear day the panorama here unfolded includes: in the distant 
northwest, Monadnock, sixty-five miles off ; more to the west, Wa- 
chusett ; in the near northwest and west, the hills of Newton. 
Following from west to south and so around, Needham, with its 
water stand-jiipe most conspicuous ; the tortuous Charles ; Dedham, 
the round-top dome of its Court House showing up well ; Moose 
Hill in Sharon ; the full line of the Blue Hills ; Hyde Park ; the 
Milton villages ; Dorchester ; the spreading yellow buildings of the 
City Lunatic Asylum on the old Austin Farm at Mount Hope ; 
the Observatory of Forest Hills Cemetery ; over and beyond this 
the Blind Asylum in South Boston ; and beyond the asylum the 
tree-tops of Fort Independence, with Thompson's Island and a 
touch of the harbor at the right ; old Roxbury stand-pipe, the 
one tolerable monument of the many of this order which so disfig- 
ure the landscape ; Parker Hill and the glistening dome of Boston 
State House. In the foreground of the circle are the clustering 
houses of the immediate neighborhood, town crowding country. 
The keeper of the tower is thoroughly acquainted with the details 
of the views, and likes to point them to visitors who display an 
interest and are good listeners. 

Descending the hill by any of the streets on the easterly side to 
Washington Street (originally the Dedham and Providence turn- 
pike, the toll-house and gate being on the hillside), the way crosses 
this thoroughfare and enters the wood paths on the other side, all 
of which lead to Muddy Pond, — or Turtle Pond as we must call 
it now, — about half a mile distant from the hill-top, directly south. 
The hill by the highway, a little farther down, is known as Milk- 
weed Hill, from the fact that there once grew upon it a rare 
milkweed, reference to which is made in Bigelow's " Plants of 
Boston." 



STONY BROOK WOODS AND REGION 



;13 



On the path which enters the woods from the highway opposite 
Bellevue Hill, toward Bearberrj' Hill on the left, is a swamp which 
probably stands at a higher level than any other in the reservation, 
and in which is a splendid white oak standing in a thicket of red 
maples and birches not far from the path. Bearberry Hill was 
so named on account of the quantities of the bearberry plant grow- 
ing on the ledges about the summit. The growth of red cedars on 
these ledges is probably as old as any within the reservation, and 
it forms an important element in the landscape. It is well worth 
a climb to the top of this hill to get a sight of the stretches of 
bare, smooth ledge forming its summit, which is very distinct in 




The Reservation from Washiiigtou Street. 



this respect from any other elevation here. There is a fine view 
to the west and south which will amply repay one for the climb. 

If one chooses to approach the reservation from Clarendon HiUs 
station (Prov. Div., main line), his way will be along Dale Street, 
at the right of the railroad track, a lane-like road, thick with 
trees, to Poplar Street, and thence to the first oi^ening in the 
woods beyond Beech Street, on the right side of the thoroughfare, 
leading toward the easterly boundary line of the reservation. 
From the Hyde Park station (Prov. Div., main line), the direct 
way lies along Gordon Avenue, which runs into the woods about a 
quarter of a mile beyond the station, and by any of the paths lead- 
ing westerly, all of which converge on the pond. The Forest Hills 
route is the longest : passing through Roslindale along Washing- 
ton Street, to a point beyond Beech Street where the wood paths 



314 STONY BED OK WOODS AND REGION. 

strike out at the left of Washington Street. Those paths running 
generally in a southern direction all lead to the pond. 

Turtle Pond may be termed the centre-piece of the reservation. 
This is a low-lying pool, picturesquely set, — a " pretty tarn, 
inclosed by crags and woods that form a wild and rocky wilder- 
ness," as Sylvester Baxter, first secretary of the Metropolitan 
Commission, has happily described it, fed by subterranean springs. 
It is shallow, with a soft, muddy bottom. Its narrow, grassy 
shores are marshy, oozy, elastic. The brink should be approached 
with caution. There is a local legend — we do not vouch for it — 
that once a pair of oxen were lost here ; and tales are told of tragic 
accidents to venturesome fishers and bathers in the darksome 
water. Good fish have been caught in the pool, and once in a while 
turtles taken, — which last fact, perhaps, suggested its renaming. 
Fishing is no longer allowed. The borders of the pond and the 
valley in which it lies are a favorite resort for botanists, and 
many plants which are not found elsewhere so near Boston are here 
in abundance. The rustic bath-house on the water's edge is for 
the use of boys. Wood paths along the rising ground above the 
shores encircle the pond, and from the higher crags broad views 
are had. 

The highest ledges are on the north side ; and from these, look- 
ing over the pond, is one of the most extensive views of the reser- 
vation, including Dedham at the southwest. Moose Hill in Sharon, 
the Blue Hills at the southeast, the Big Blue standing out promi- 
nently, and Hyde Park at the east. One of the prettiest views 
of the pond is from The Perch (200 feet), the picturesque rock on 
the east side, a little way from these ledges, well shaded by slender 
trees, through which are pleasant vistas. Looking from The Perch 
toward the north and east, between the high rocks to the left and 
the elevated ground running parallel with Poplar Street, we have 
a view over the marshy depression. This marsh continvies, with 
numerous breaks and elevations, nearly to Beech Street. It was 
formerly practically inaccessible, but a newly cut path directly 
across it now connects the main approach from Bellevue Hill and 
that from Poplar Street. 

Stony Brook, marked by the dividing stone between Boston 
and Hyde Park, rises from the southeast side of the pond, and is 
crossed, over a rustic bridge, by the wood path skirting the pond. 
From this point it is a short walk in an easterly direction to the 
main path extending from the Washington Street side of the reser- 
vation to Hyde Park, and a walk of about three-quarters of a 
mile in the same direction, bearing toward the left after reaching 
the open, to the Hyde Park entrance from Gordon Avenue. Over- 



STONY BROOK WOODS AND REGION. 



515 



brook Hill (220 feet) is to the westward of the rustic bridge by 
the dividing stone. 

The wood path from the dividing stone, followed around toward 
the west, brings up at the broad path which is the main opening 
to the pond. Leaving the pond by this path, and bearing to the 
south, a fine .stretch of grove is soon entered, and the winding 







Rustic Bridge over Stony Brook. 

walk becomes full of beauty. Continuing from the grove into 
the thickets, still in an easterly direction, the pleasant winding 
paths lead to the rocky open space or upland which is the popular 
picnic-ground within the reservation. Thence following the cart- 
roads and foot-paths, tending toward the southeast, through thick 
growths of tree, bush, shrub, and vine, the Readville entrance, or 
exit, as we make it, is ultimately reached, about a mile distant 
from Turtle Pond. These roads and paths wander delightsomely 
round high rocks and elifPs, some of which are wooded to the top, 
over picturesque hillocks, and into charming vales. "Outlooks" 
along the way are fairly frequent, and from each is a view well 
worth the climb to see. 

These are genuine woods, full 'of sweet woody odors and rich in 
flora. They have an abundance of checkerberry, of elderberry, 
partridgeberry, sassafras, blueberry, huckleberry ; in their seasons 
hepaticas are here for those who know where to look, violets of 



316 STONY BROOK WOODS AND REGION. 

various kinds — ^ the yellow dog-tooth, the white, bird's-foot, the 
swamp, — golden-rod, asters, cat-o'-nine-tails, sedge grass; ferns 
in great variety, including the rare maidenhair ; and a wealth of 
fungi. Nut trees also abound. And of game there is yet some- 
thing left — i)artridges, quail, herons, woodchueks, rabbits, and an 
occasional fox — now beyond the reach of the huntsman, hunting 
being prohibited within the presei've. Every care has been taken 
since the estal)lishment of the reservation to preserve the little 
bird and animal life that has been spared by the hunter ; and the 
natural flora of the region, which have long made it a favorite field 
for botanists, have been fostered to luxuriant growth. It is plea- 
sant to note that the rule for the protection of flowers, which are 
not to be picked but enjoyed in their places, is fairly well observed 
by the public. 

The vistas of the Blue Hills from the various cliffs are the most 
enchanting of the landscape features, as the Readville boundary 
is approached. From Kooney's Rock, the highest elevation in 
this part, rising out of a mass of trees and shrubs around which the 
path winds pictviresquely, we have the finest sweep of the hills, 
with Hyde Park village and Fairmount in the left foreground, and 
Happy Valley in front of us toward the right. 

A short walk below Rooney's Rock, the wood path ends at a 
cart-road skirting the field by the side of a grove, following which 
the Readville exit is soon reached. This exit is through a broad 
strip of open bounded on either side by pine groves, from which 
the fullest and most favorable near view of the Blue Hills is ob- 
tained. And from the knoll in the middle of the strip, looking 
back toward the north, the woods are seen to good advantage, 
with the tower of Bellevue Hill rising above them in the distance. 
The luxuriant growth of yellow bed-straw, covering the south side 
of the dry, gravelly knoll Avith a spring carpet of bright green, is a 
mass of delicate yellow blossoms in July. The north slope of the 
knoll is almost as thickly covered with tansy. These are both 
foreign plants which have escaped from cultivation, and with them 
are others similar in character, which, together with the old cellar 
hole, show that this spot was for many years occupied as a home. 

From this point to the Hyde Park station is a walk (or ride by 
electric car of the Norfolk Suburban line) of about three-quarters 
of a mile along West River Street by the Mother Brook side. 

By leaving here, however, we miss a pleasant strip of woods on 
the southeast side. Let us, therefore, extend our walk in this 
direction, and into attractive parts outside the reservation. We 
follow the cart-road back from the open, and, passing the wood 
path by which we entered it, bear around sharply to the left. 



STONY BROOK WOODS AXB HE G ION. 



317 



This way shortly brings us to the Reservation Office, and opjjosite 
the end of Glenwood Avenue, one of the Hyde Park api^roaches. 
Stepping inside the office for a moment, we may make the acquaint- 
ance of the pets of the officer in charge. We shall find them in- 
teresting to view if not to handle, and the officer affable, ready 
and pleased to display the fine points of his specimens of woods 
life. Here are several varieties of snakes, — the spotted adder 
(often mistaken for the rattlesnake), the striped adder, the black 
and the green snake, — a cheerful family of frogs, snapping turtles, 
and mud turtles. 

From the office we folloAV the road along the edge of Waters- 
meet Meadow on ou,r left, to the ice-house beyond, and there 




Looking across Skating Poud. 

take the dike road at the left, skirt the meadoAV for a little way 
along a wildly picturesque and rough foot-path, then strike into the 
woods at the right, and bear round to the right as the fairly out- 
lined path leads. Thus we reach the Pine Woods, a region 
outside of the reservation, within sound of familiar town notes, of 
the railway and the factory whistle, but as secluded and apparently 
as remote as an interior country forest. In the heart of these 
woods we may come upon a little settlement of humble folk who 
give a cheery word of greeting, and silence the less hospitable dogs 
which resent our intrusion of their domain with a great racket of 
barking. The walk on increases in charm as the end of the rough 
cart-road is approached. 

We emerge upon the main road, which is West Street to the right 
(Poplar Street farther on at the left), leading toward the Hazel- 
wood station, in Hyde Park, from which we make the return trip. 



Milton. 

Boston to Milton Lower Mills by steam car [N. Y., N. H. & H., Milton 
Branch], 6 miles; fare, 13 cents. By electric car [Ashmout and Milton], 
from Park Street via Crosstowu, 8 miles ; from Franklin Street via Hampden 
Street, 7 miles ; fare, 5 cents. Return from Mattapan by steam car [Milton 
Br., or N. E.], 7j miles; fare, 15 cents. 

Boston to Mattapan [N. E. station]. Return from Milton Lower Mills. 

Walk a [No. 38]. Embraces the Lower Mills Village ; Adams Street over 
Milton Hill ; old Milton Cemetery ; old roads and lanes ; the Centre at Acad- 
emy Hill and its neighborhood ; Thacher Plain ; Mattapan. 

Walk b [No. 39]. About Mattapan ; over the Brush Hill side of the town ; 
Milton Street to Blue Hill Avenue ; across to Canton Avenue, thence to 
Milton Lower Mills 

Milton was incorporated in 1662, named for Milton in England, from which 
some of its first settlers came. Its territory had previously been a part of 
Dorchester, bearing the old Indian name of Unquity-quisset, or Unquity, as 
it was commonly called, signifying " a place at the end of a small tidal stream 
or creek." [Teele's History of Milton.] It lies on the south side of the Ne- 
ponset River, which separates it from Boston and forms the dividing line for 
a distance of about four miles. The extreme length of the town is about six 
miles, its breadth, at the broadest, three and one-third miles, embracing an 
extremely picturesque region. The greater portion of the beautiful Blue Hills 
lies within its borders, and nearly a third of its territory is covered with woods. 
It is composed of six distinct villages, Milton Lower Mills, or " The Village," 
Milton Centre, East Milton, Mattapan, Pine Tree Brook or Blue Hill Village, 
and Scotch or Scott's Village. The numerous old family estates and country 
seats, spreading over its undulating surface, give it, in parts, something of the 
park-like character of an English country town. Off from its thoroughfares 
are found hedge and vine fringed by-ways and quiet lanes. It has been a 
favorite place for country seats since Provincial times, when much splendor 
was displayed by the worthies who made it their summer home. In later 
days it was souglit as an abiding-place by professional folk, clergymen of note, 
authors, and artists. On the outskirts of the town, notably in the near neigh- 
borhood of the Blue Hills, are rich farms, stocked with herds of fine-bred 
cattle, and with highly cultivated lands, than which no fairer are found in 
Eastern Massachusetts. Milton is distinguished as the place where the first 
powder-mill in the colonies was set up (1C75), the first paper-mill (1728), the 
first chocolate-mill (1765), the first iron-slitting mill (1710); and where the 
first pianoforte was made (1800). The first grist-mill in New England run by 
water-power, built in 1G31, was close to " Unquity," but on the present Dor- 
chester District side of the river ; yet Miltonians claim its site, on the ground 
that it was always included in the town's taxable froperty, and that the land 
holdings of Israel Stoughton, its builder, were mostly on the Milton side of 
the river. Milton is further distinguished as the "birthplace of American 
Liberty," the " Suffolk Resolves " having been adopted here at the conven- 
tion which met in the old " Vose house," still standing. It was at one time a 
place of small ship-building ; and the first railroad in New England (1826), the 
" Granite Railroad," was in part within its limits. In the old Milton Ceme- 
tery are the graves of Wendell Phillips, and of William Rimmer, the sculptor 
and painter. 

The electric car ride to Milton Lower Mills, through the Rox- 
bury and Dorchester districts, is an enjoyable one, but the trip out 
by steam car is much the shorter, and not without interest, the 
line for a good part skirting the marshes of Dorchester Bay, and 



MILTON. 



;i9 



affording occasional pleasant views from the car windows. We shall 
save time by taking the steam car, and approach the village by 
the direct way. The run is made in a leisurely fashion, Miltouians, 
evidently, being in no great hurry. The Milton station is below 
the street grade, and consequently we see scarcely anything of the 
place until we leave the train and mount the steps to Adams tStreet. 
Here we are at once in a quarter quite resembling the main way of 
an old New England town, rather than a thoroughfare of a near 
suburb of a large city. The main street, broad and dignified, 
rising from the fine arched bridge over the bustling river at the 
right, and sweeping toward Milton Hill at the left, has an air of 
solidity which only age and the retention of seasoned lantbiiarks 
can give. Close at hand, next above the station steps, under 
the shadow of three great English elms, is the treasured " Yose 
house," in which the " Suffolk Resolves " of 1774 were adopted. 




" Suffolk Resolves " House. 



The convention of delegates from the nineteen towns of Suffolk 
(which at that time embraced what afterward became Norfolk 
County), had first assembled at "Dedham, and, meeting here by 
adjournment, completed its momentous business. On the tablet, 
fixed in the face of the house, we read this full and minute in- 
scription : — 



320 MILTON. 

Ill this Mansion 

on the Ninth Day of September 1774 at a meeting of the delegates of 

every Town and District in tlie County of Suifolk, tlie 

Suffolk Resolves were adopted. 

They were reported by Major General Warren, who fell in their defence 
in the battle of Bunker Hill, June 17, 1775. 

They were approved by the Members of the Continental Congress, at 

Carpenter's Hall, Pliiladelpliia, on tlie Seventeenth of 

September, 1774. 

The Resolves to wliich the immortal Patriot here gave utterance, and 

the heroic deeds of tliat eventful day on whicli he fell, led the 

way to American Independence. 

" Posterity will acknowledge that virtue which preserved them 
free and liappy." 

Paul Revere was the messenger who carried the Resolves to 
Philadelphia. 

Daniel Vose, the owner of the mansion-house at the time of tlie meeting of 
the convention, was a leading man of Milton, and an earnest patriot. During 
the latter half of the eighteenth century, he was the principal factor for the 
farmers and producers for miles around. He had several mills — saw, grist, 
paper, and chocolate-mills — on the river banks, a lumber-wharf, and a dis- 
tillery ; and he ran a number of sloops in connection with his business to 
Boston, Salem, and Gloucester. The mansion-house was furnished handsomely 
in his day, we are told, and he was " a genial host, entertaining with generous 
hospitality." The house originally stood a little farther up the road. 

Before ascending the hill let us stroll down to the bridge and 
take a look at the mills by the river-side, — the great chocolate- 
factories of the Walter Baker Company, covering the sites of both 
the first powder and the first chocolate mills. From the parapet 
of the bridge, on the east side, we get a pretty view of the slight 
falls of the river, which here runs at a merry pace. The average 
rise of the tide is about ten feet, within four inches of the top of 
the rock marked by the bolt bearing the legend : — 

Tide of April IG, 1857. 

High water 

Top of this Rod. 

This was the famous "light-house tide," so called from the loss 
of Minot Ledge Light-house off Boston Harbor, in the gale which 
accompanied it, and is recorded as six feet eight and a half inches 
above average tide. 

Now we turn back, and follow Adams Street, up and over Mil- 
ton Hill, the scenic beauty of which, the town's historian truly 
says, can hardly be surpassed. This street is on the line of the 
original " Country Heigh Weye," laid out in 1()54, connecting Dor- 
chester with Braintree and Quincy, and in Colonial days a part of 



MILTON. 321 

the great highway between Boston and the Plymouth Colony ; 
while the hill was the seat of Nanepashemet, chief of the Nepon- 
set tribe, the place of the first settlement, and, in later times, the 
spot selected for the country seats of the grandees of the Provin- 
cial period. So we are treading historic as well as picturesque 
ground. 

A few steps beyond the Vose house, we pass the Milton Public 
Library, occupying convenient quarters on the ground floor of the 
most ' ' citified " building here. This is an excellent institution with 
a well-selected collection of books, especially strong in Americana, 
and an inviting public reading-room. The large painting on the 
wall of the reading-room, a cattle piece by a Munich artist, was a 
gift to the library by the late Henry P. Kidder, whose summer 
home was long in Milton. This library dates from 1870. Milton 
had a library society as early as 1702, but this Avas its first library 
free to all. The ancient house further along across the way, with 
its side to the street, was once the "Kising Sun Tavern." At 
this point we reach the junction of Canton and Randolph avenues, 
at the right, the former, the highway to Canton, passing by the 
Great Blue Hill, and the latter, the road to Bandolph, cutting 
through the Blue Hill range, becoming, in the reservation, "Ran- 
dolph Pass." At this junction Adams Street tvirns to the left and 
ascends the hill at easy grade. 

Making the hill, we are in a region of old mansion-houses, almost 
every one of which has a history, and of beautiful modern estates, 
generous in proportion and tasteful in embellishment. The villa 
on the left, near the Randolph Avenue opening, is the dwelling of 
Mrs. A. D. T. Whitney, the author. The large place, next beyond, 
''is that of Edward Cunningham. The old-style house, a little 
farther along, on the opposite side of the street, and facing the 
open space left above the Cunningham house, contains in its frame 
parts of the historic Governor Hutchinson house. The situation 
is, indeed, as the tory governor modestly described it in his " Con- 
versation " with George III. in London, " a pleasant one ; " and as 
Ave gaze upon the view spread out before it, — of the river wander- 
ing through the lovely stretch of marshes from the foot of the hill, 
the city beyond, the harbor and bay at the right, — we can readily 
understand how " most gentlemen from abroad " could have said 
that "it has the finest prospect from it they ever saw, except 
where great improvements have been made by art to help the nat- 
ural view." Although the prosp'ect we have is far different in 
detail, it is easy to imagine what that must have been in the days 
of the Province. Hutchinson's house was a broad one and a half 
story cottage, with low wings on either side, and an expansive front 



322 



MILTON. 



porch. His estate here was originally of large extent, and he 
owned land on the street for nearly half a mile from the bridge. 
He was fond of beautifying the place, and set out many ornamental 
and fruit trees in front and about it. After the Lexington affair, 
the house was taken possession of by the town, and subsequently 







The Hutchinson House. 



confiscated. " Washington, it is said, rides in my coach to Cam- 
bridge," Hutchinson mournfully writes in his diarj' uj^on receipt 
of letters from America. This place is now known as the Russell 
place, and has been in the Russell family since 1829, coming at 
that time by inheritance to Mrs. Lydia Smith Russell. 

Hutchinson, naturally drawn to Milton, his great-grandfather having been 
one of its first settlers, made this his country seat in 1743, and it was his sum- 
mer home from that time until his departure for England, in June, 1774, when 
things were becoming warm in Boston. After the destruction of his elegant 
town house at the North End, by the Stamp Act mob, this was his principal 
dwelling. Here he awaited the action of the people in the Old South Meet- 
ing-house, assembled on the eve of the " Boston Tea Party ; " and here came 
"Quaker" Rotcli, at their command, with his request for a pass for the 
Dartmouth with her cargo to clear forthwith, upon the refusal of which 
the " detested tea " was tipjied overboard. Whatever may have been his 
faults as a crown officer, Hutchinson was a good Miltonian and made himself 
"respected and loved by all his neighbors." "He mingled with them in 
social life, and worshiped with them in the same church." When he left for 
England, as it happened, never to return, "he walked from his home along 
the road, bidding adieu to his neighbors, and shaking hands with them. 
When near Dorchester Neck (now South Boston), he got into his carriage, 
which had followed him, and drove to Dorchester Point (South Boston Point), 
where a boat was waiting to take him on board the Minerva." 

A later occupant of the Hutchinson house was James Warren, patriot, 



MILTON. 323 

president of the Plymouth County Convention in 1774, member of the Pro- 
vincial Congress and, after the death of General Warren at Bunker Hill, 
president of the Congress. His wife was Mercy, sister of James Otis, Jr., 
who wrote the history of the American War, in three volumes. During their 
occupancy of the house it was, says Teele, " the resort of patriots and men of 
learning from all parts of the country." After the war, Patrick Jeffery, first 
the steward and then the husband of the famous Madam Haley, who had left 
him and returned to London, purchased the place and lived here for some 
time in fiue style, with two housekeepers and a retinue of servants, enter- 
taining lavishly. An aristocratic club dined with him weekly. " The dinner 
was prolonged, the pipes evaporated in smoke, and choice wines disappeared. 
After the company were seated in their carriages, they were driven to the 
front door, and there summoned Mr. Jeffery to drink a parting glass." Bar- 
ney Smith, a Boston importer, was the next owner, and after his death it 
came into the possession of his daughter, Mrs. Lydia Smith Russell. 

The house next above on the same side, now owned by Mrs. 
Francis Cunningham, dates from, 1801. In its original shape, this 
was a fine type of the mansion-house of that period. It was built 
by Dr. Amos Holbrook, an eminent physician in his day, practicing 
in the adjoining towns, and was occupied by him until his death, 
in 1842. In its construction and interior embellishment, the best 
workmanship of the time was employed. The ample hall and the 
great square rooms are still furnished in keeping with the stately 
style of the house, and many mementos of the Holbrook family 
are retained. Over the ancient sideboard in the dining-room 
stands the old clock, made in England for Governor Hutchinson, 
that long ticked off the time in the Hutchinson house, and came 
into Dr. Holbrook 's possession at the auction sale of the household 
effects after the death of the jovial Jeffery. Lafayette, when on 
his last visit to America in 1824, was brilliantly entertained under 
this hospitable roof. This house occupies the highest point of the 
hill, and the vicAvs from it quite equal those from the old Hutchin- 
son place. The next estate, extending to Churchill Lane, is that 
of J. Murray Forbes. The mansion-house here was built in 1833, 
and was long known as Madam Forbes's house, being occujiied by 
Mrs. Forbes for many years until her death. She was the mother 
of the Plon. John M, Forbes, the late Captain Robert B. Forbes, 
and of Mrs. Francis Cunningham. 

Churchill's Lane is another ancient way, struck out in 1661, or 
thereabouts, from the " Coimtry Heigh Weye," to a path leading 
to the Blue Hills. With twists and turns it reaches Centre Street. 
At first it bore the name of Vose's Lane, which is now applied to 
the short road, a little farther along, turning from Centre Street 
to Canton Avenue. In the triangular jiiece of land at the head of 
Churchill's Lane at Adams Sti'eet, the first meeting-house, it is 
thought, stood. The estate on the upper corner, facing Adams 
Street, is part of the old Churchill place, so called from Asaph 
Churchill, who occupied it about the year 1810. This was formerly 



324 MILTON. 

the estate of Edward H. Robbins, lieutenant-governor of the Com- 
monwealth, 18U2-0G, from whom the Churchills acquired it, and 
at an earlier period belonged to Colonel Joseph Gooch , who repre- 
sented Milton in the General Court in the fifties of the seventeenth 
century. The mansion-house was built by Colonel Gooch, and 
dates from 1740. As we approach this place, by looking through 
the opening at the right, we have a charming picture of a piece 
of the Blue Hills. The house next beyond was built by Asaph 
Churchill's second son, Judge Joseph M. Churchill, a justice of 
the Municipal Court in Boston from 1867 until his death in 1880, 
and for twenty-five years moderator of Milton town meetings. 
Part of the original estate is still in the Churchill family. 

On the left side again, the modern mansion set in extensive 
grounds, facing the opening of Churchill's Lane, was that of the 
late Oliver W. Peabody, of the Boston banking-house of Kidder, 
Peabody & Co. From this point is a beautiful outlook over the 
harbor, with Boston Light plainly visible. In the wall by the 
sidewalk, near the avenue leading to the house, is preserved one 
of the Belcher mile-stones, belonging to the line set up by Gov- 
ernor Belcher from his place, farther along, the site of which we 
shall shortly see, to the town-house in Boston. This bears the 
legend: "8 miles to B Town House. The lower way. 1734." 
The summer cottage of the late Rev. Samuel K. Lothrop, last 
minister of the old Brattle Square Church in Boston, was the 
predecessor of the Peabody house on this site. The place beyond, 
on the same side, is that of J. Malcom Forbes, of the Ameri- 
can Bell Telephone Company. Farther along, beyond the white 
cottage house (which Avas the home of the Rev. Joseph Angier, 
minister of the Milton Unitarian Cliurch, 1837-45) and the little 
old houses, we reach the domain of John M. Forbes, for years the 
master spirit of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad sys- 
tem. The mansion-house in the distant background of the broad 
open space, an interesting example of middle nineteenth-century 
style, commands in every direction charming views. On the river, 
at the foot of the hill, back of this estate, was the ancient ship- 
yard, from which some fair-sized merchant-vessels were launched 
in its flourishing days. 

The plain little house on the knoll, beyond the John M. Forbes 
place, is the Ware cottage, where the late Rev. Henry Ware, of 
Boston, long lived. It still remains in the Ware family. Next is 
the home and studio of WilHam Ordway Partridge, the sculptor. 
Here formerly lived the Rev. John H. Morison, Unitarian min- 
ister in Milton for forty years (1846-86). The large estate on the 
other side of the street, nearly opposite the Forbes place, is that 



MILTON. 325 

of Charles E. Perkins, son-in-law of the late Captain Robert B. 
Forbes, now president of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Rail- 
road. On the left side of the way again, the modern house beyond 
the Partridge cottage, known as the Glover villa, occuiiies the site 
of the mansion-house of Provincial Treasurer William Foye, built 
in 1734, and called at the time one of the finest in the colony. It 
stood until 1879, when it was taken down and the present house 
was built by Theodore R. Glover. 

Foye's mother was a sister of Governor Belcher, and his daughter Mary 
became the wife of the Rev. Samuel Cooper, minister of the Brattle Square 
Church in Boston. He lived in his mansion-house here for twenty-five years, 
and died in it, in 1759, at a good old age. On a September day in 1759, George 
Wliitefield, having been denied the meeting-house, preached under a large 
elm in front of the place, to a great congregation, and after the service was 
hospitably entertained in tlie mansion-house by Madam Foye and her daugh- 
ter Betty. This tree was blown down in the gale of 1851, when the high tide 
marked by the bolt in the river by the bridge occurred, and Teele relates 
that " on the morning after tlie gale Daniel Webster, with his wife, driving 
from Marsh field to Boston over Milton Hill, met the obstruction in tlie road 
caused by the fallen tree, not yet whollj' removed, and was forced to turn 
back and take the road by Milton Cemetery." 

The generous estate adjoining the Glover place was that of the 
late Captain Robert B, Forbes, elder brother of John M. Forbes, 
the widely known ship-master, who made a fortune in the China 
trade, and who, from his unbounded and unselfish interest in sea- 
men, was called the " Howard of the Sea." His mansion-house 
was built in 1847, and enlarged to its present pi'oportions in 1852. 
The pleasant place across the way, nearly opposite, is the John H. 
Brooks place ; and its next neighbor, embracing one of the largest 
houses of modern build on the hill, is the George Wigglesworth 
place. Beyond the Robert B. Forbes estate, we pass first the 
Robert S. Watson place, and next the mansion-house of the late 
Henry P. Kidder. 

We have now covered the richest portion of Adams Street and 
Milton Hill ; and at old Algerine Corner, for which old name has 
been substituted the commonplace one of Union Square, we are to 
turn for the walk over to "Milton Churches," at The Centre. 
Before making the turn, however, let us continue along Adams 
Street to Otis Avenue, the first opening at the right above the 
square, to the neighborhood of the Governor Jonathan Belcher 
place. The royal governor's estate was an expansive one, begin- 
ning at the present Otis Street and extending back some distance 
from the road. It was purchased by him between the years 1728 
and 1730, and was his country seat during the eleven years of his 
service as governor of the Province. He lived here in grand style 
with many servants and equipages ; and his son, who succeeded 



326 MILTON. 

him, maintained the name of the place for liberal hospitality until 
his death, in 1771. The house which the governor modestly called 
his " little cottage " was burned down in 1776, when Madam 
Belcher Avas still its mistress ; and the i)resent house, itself now 
venerable, was at once built on its site. It was Belcher's inten- 
tion, when he bought the place, to build a fine mansion-house on 
the hillside farther back from the road, and he had an avenue 
fifty feet wide and an eighth of a mile long laid out and graded 
to the point where it was to stand. This work he required to be 
executed with such precision " that friends and visitors, on their 
first entrance upon the avenue, might see the gleaming of his gold 
kneebuckles as he stood on the distant piazza." The grading was 
done by the Provincial troops, who Avere marched out from Bos- 
ton by regiments on drill and fatigue duty. Traces of this avenue 
are yet visible in the lane, just beyond the private roadwaj' lead- 
ing to the present house. Note in this lane, and over yonder by 
the brook, at the right, the remarkable pollard willows, hollowed 
by age, and magnificent in size. Soon after the present house was 
built, the Belcher estate passed by purchase to John Rowe, a 
Boston merchant, and has since, in large part, remained in posses- 
sion of his descendants. The house is now locally known as the 
Payson house, its owner being Mrs. Anne Rowe Paj^son, grand- 
niece of John Rowe, who occupies it with her daughter, Mrs. 
\ Anne Rowe Cunningham. 

From Union Square, Adams Street continues through East Mil- 
ton, th^ largest of the several " villages," where the granite busi- 
ness is concentrated, to Quincy ; Pleasant Street curves off to the 
southwest, ultimately joining Randolph turnpike ; and Centre 
Street runs almost due west, crossing Randolph turnpike nearer 
the village, and ending in Canton Avenue. Centre Street is the 
direct road to Milton Churches, passing Milton Cemetery along 
the way. These points may be reached by Pleasant Street and 
Gun Hill Road opening at the right, some distance out, if we are 
ready for a much longer walk. Pleasant Street is an old road, 
indeed the second or third in age in town, having been cut out in 
1669, and passes through some pleasant country, parts of which 
constitute the D. 0. Clark and Edward Cvinningham estates, the 
latter spreading over a hundred and fifty acres, which lie at the 
left of the road as it is entered from Union Square. If we deter- 
mine to take the shorter way, by Centre Street, it is worth while 
first to stroll up the older street as far as these places and enjoy 
their rural beauty, — the country houses distant from the road- 
way, approached by long elm-lined avenues, the thick woods, tlie 
ponds, and dales, — and also study the curious, unlovely-visage d 



MILTON. 327 

griffins which guard the entrance to the Cunningham acres.-* From 
Union Square to the Milton Cemetery hy the Centre Street way, is 
a walk of ahout three-quarters of a mile, and to Milton Churches a 
short half-mile farther. From the summit of Milton Hill through 
Churchill's Lane, which ends at Centre Street, the distance to the 
Cemetery is ahout half a mile. 

The upper Centre Street or western entrance to Milton Ceme- 
tery is into the older part, which includes the first town hurial- 
ground, dating from 1672, a lot of but forty rods. The present in- 
closure, containing upwards of thirty-four acres, a place of much 
natural beauty, is tastefully laid out, with shaded lanes and paths 
among the tombs and graves, a placid lake, and peaceful pond. 
The oldest gravestone shows date of 1687, and is among the graves 
of the Wadsworth family, at the right of the main path from this 
entrance. Graves of members of mimerous old Milton families 
are in its near neighborhood. The Ministeiual Tomb, close by the 
entrance gate, which Avas erected in 1729 and first received the 
remains of Peter Thacher, fii*st minister of Milton, who died in 
1727, is marked by an upright slab bearing this inscription: — 

Erected 1729. To be, abide, and remain forever as a Ministerial Tomb. 

Here ly the remains of M's- Susanna Thacher [second wife of the Rev. Peter 
Thacher] who died Sept. 4"'- 1724. Aet. 59 years. Rev. Peter, first Pastor of 
the Church in Milton, who died Dec^- 17'i>' 1727, in the 77t*> year of his age, 
and the 47"^ of his Pastorate. 

M". Elizabeth Taylor, wife of the Rev. John Taylor, who died April \1^^. 
1735. Aet. 27 years. 

Rev. John Taylor, who died Jan. 26"i. 1750, in the 4G''» year of his age. 

Edward Sherburn Taylor, aged 14 days, 1750. 

Samuel Gile Jr., died Oct. 5, 1829, aged 18 years. 

Samuel Gile, D. D., died Oct. IG, 1836, aged 56 years. 

Mary H. Gile, wife of Samuel Gile, D. D., died June 25, 1862, aged 83 years. 

Samuel W. Cozzens, D. D., died Aug. 7, 1875, aged 75 years. 

The tomb of Peter Thacher's first wife is in the group of old 
graves on the other side of the path, a little way farther on, thus 
marked : — 

Mrs. Theodora Thacher, y* daughter of ye Rev. Mr. John Oxenbridge, Pas- 
tor of ye first Cliurch of Boston, and wife of M--- Peter Thacher, aged 38 years, 
6 months & 23 days, was Translated from Earth to Heaven Nov'- y« IS'i'. 1697. 

Peter Thacher's second wife Avas the widow of the Rev. John 
Bailey, pastor of the First Church in Boston, 1693-1697. He had 
a third wife whom he married three months before his death — 
Elizabeth Thacher, daughter of his second cousin Judah Thacher, 
and widow of Joshua Gee, a Boston ship-builder. 
The grave of the sculptor Rimmer is near the middle of the 



328 MILTON. 

cemetery, at the junction of Lilac Path and Pine Avenue (reached 
by the winding Willow Avenue on the north side, and Centennial 
Avenue). It is in Lot No. 21J4, marked by a plain stone, bearing 
only the name and dates : " William Riramer, died August 20, 1.S79, 
aged sixty-three years six months." The grave of Wendell 
Phillips is near by, on Laurel Path (Lot No. 349), the second 
opening from Pine Avenue, at the left, reached more directly 
from the Rimmer grave by Pansy Path to right, or by Hemlock 
Path to Laurel. It is marked by a cone-shaped granite boulder 
with this simple inscription set in the face : — 

Ann and Wendell Phillips 

Died April 24, 18SG — Feb. 2, 1884. 

Aged 73 — Aged 73. 

On the side of the boulder are cut the names of George W. Greene, 
and Sibyl Gardiner Rice, his wife, granddaughter of Mary Spar- 
hawk and Captain Isaac Gardiner, killed at Lexington Fight, 1775. 
Phillips was first buried in the Phillips family tomb in the old 
Granary Burying-ground in Boston, and his remains were depos- 
ited here after the death of his wife. 

We may leave the cemetery at the Gun Hill Street entrance on 
the southwest side, and by this i^icturesque road, taking the right 
from the gate, again reach Centre Street just above Randolijh 
turnpike ; or we may go back and out by the way we entered, 
which is shorter. Gun Hill Street is interesting as one of the 
ancient lanes. It is supposed to owe its name to an incident of 
the Indian wars. The story goes that on one occasion a heavy 
gun, which a detachment of soldiers were drawing over the hill, 
got so hopelessly stuck in the mud here that it had to be aban- 
doned for a night with a guard to prevent its capture by the 
enemy ; and thereafter the Miltonians called the place Gun HiU. 

On pleasant Centre Street, at the corner of Randolph turnpike, 
we pass the handsome buildings of Milton Academy, a type of the 
old New England academy, founded in 1805-06, and bej-'ond the 
junction witli Canton Avenue we come to " Milton Churcties," 
fa(!ing Canton Avenue, on the crest of Academy Hill. The meet- 
ing-houses here, generally alluded to by old Miltonians as the 
"twin churches," are the successors of the First Church, now 
Unitarian, and the "East Church," or First Evangelical, Congre- 
gational, built after the division in tlie old church on theological 
grounds, in 1834. The older meeting-house dates from 1788. It 
originally stood sideways to the road and was turned around as it 
now appears, and at the same time considerably enlarged, in 1835. 
Several changes have since been made in both the interior and the 
exterior. The " Parish Parlor," a separate building on tlie west 



MILTON. 



329 



side, is modern in date, huilt in the late seventies, although in 
desig-n in harmony with the architecture of the older structure. 
The elms in front of the meeting-house were planted by members 
of the parish when the present building was erected. The town- 










The "Twin Churches." 



house, between the churches, Avhich, with the high-schoolhouse in 
the rear, completes the interesting group of buildings here, was 
erected in 187H (Hartwell & Tilden, Boston, architects). Prior 
to 1835 the town meetings were usually held in the old meeting- 
house, or ont of doors on the church green, when the weather was 
balmy. The vicAv from the road, at this point, over the intervale 
below, is charming. 

Old houses are more frequent than new in this neighborhood, 
removed from the steam or electric railroad, and it has a solidly 
settled and comfortable look, as if life moved placidly always 
with those whose lines have fallen here. Back on the corner of 
Canton Avenue and Vose's Lane, east of the churches, was the 
first "ministerial house," or jiarsonage, built in 1664; and in the 
old homestead occupying the site, for generations in the Vose 
family, and now owned by Mrs. W. P. Blanchard, are said to be 
some portions of the first house. The homestead next beyond 
this, a typical old New England dwelling of the prosperous order, 
is "Elm Corner," the earlier home of Mrs. A. D. T. Whitney, 
where she lived for upward of twenty-five years, and where the 
book-work that has brought her fame was done. Continuing 
along Canton Avenue south, passing beyond the churches, and 
Highland Street, on the left, we come to the old Read house, 
dating from 1805, under the shadow of the ancient "Big Oak," 
and opposite the old Pound, the fourth in the town, built in 1774. 
The more venerable house up the lane known as Read's Lane, 



330 



MILTON. 



by the side of the Read house, dates from 1765, and was built by 
one of the Wadsworths. 

Highland Street, which we have passed in reaching these old 
houses, leads over Wadsworth Hill, toward Randolph Turnpike 
and the Blue Hills region, a charming by-walk. From the brow 
of Wadsworth Hill the view is enchanting. 

This hill was part of the domain of that Captain Samuel Wadsworth " zeal- 
ous in church matters and in the military organization," and one of the incor- 
porators of Milton, who fell at Sudbury with the large part of his command 
in King Philip's War (1G7G), and whose name is first of those inscribed on the 
Sudbury monument, near the spot of the massacre. He came to Milton from 
Duxbury, in 1656, and selected for his lot one hundred acres of land, extend- 
ing from the present Canton Avenue to the Braintree line, and embracing this 
hill, a part of which is still in the possession of his descendants. His house 
on the hill, near the site of the ancient Wadsworth house, now standing, in 
the grounds of Captain Edwin D. Wadsworth, was then in the wilderness a 
mile from any other dwelling. President Benjamin Wadsworth, of Harvard 
College (1725-1737), was the fifth son of Captain Wadsworth, born on Wads- 
worth Hill in 1670. He erected the first monument to the lieroes of Sudbury 
in 1730, which was succeeded by the present obelisk erected by the State and 
the town of Sudbury in 1852. 

The opening next above Reed's Lane, also at the left of Canton 
Avenue, leads to the Colonel Henry S. Russell estate, about an 



.r^^^P^. 




Site of the Peter Thacher House. 

eighth of a mile distant, one of the most extensive in Milton, nota- 
ble for its long, stately avenue of elms, and the natural beauty of 
its surroundings. 

Thacher Street, leaving Canton Avenue on the right side nearly 
opposite the opening of Highland Street, is our way toward Mat- 
tapan. It is less picturesque than the latter road or the lanes 
above, but it offers a peculiar attraction in the site of the Rev. 
Peter Thacher's house on " Thacher's Plain," built by him in 



MILTON. 331 

1689, from the cellar of which, still well outlined, has sprung a 
lofty ehn. A short walk brings us to this unique landmark, — in 
an open field on the westerly side of the road, back of a humble 
suburban settlement just beyond the pretty Pine Tree Brook 
which carries the waters of other brooks and streams from the 
Blue Hills region to the Neponset. Near the grassy banks of the 
ancient cellar lie two flat stones, once, possibly, part of a flagging 
to the threshold of the house ; and there yet remain traces of the 
old well and of the drain reaching toward the brook. Here Par- 
son Thacher built his dwelling, after having lived for nine years 
in the " ministerial house " by Vose's Lane, and this was his 
home for forty years until his death in 1727. Among his frequent 
and most welcome visitors was Judge Samuel Sewall, of Boston, 
his classmate in college, and much mention of him is made in the 
latter's Diary. Of one of these visits Sewall wrote with evident 
satisfaction : " He was very glad to see me. Said 't was a Cordial. 
Carried him two China Oranges." His son, Oxenbridge, some 
time prominent in Boston affairs, and a selectman, lived here after 
his death, and died here at the age of ninety-one years. The old 
hoiise stood until 1798, when it Avas burned down. 

Following Thacher Street to Mattapan Street, which it joins at 
the jimction of Brook Road, and taking Mattapan Street, at the 
right, we reach the village of Mattapan, where our walk eiids. 
The striking mansion-house, on the right side of Mattapan Street, 
was long the home of Reuben A. Richards, later of Henry Austin. 
It is now the Hebrew home of the aged, an institution generously 
endowed by the late Leopold Morse, merchant, of Boston. 

Walk b. A road and lane walk. Starting in Mattapan at the 
New England station on Blue HiU Avenue, the course lies along 
this avenue through the village and over the bridge, just beyond 
the Old Colony station, to the "two corners," — Mattapan Street, 
Blue Hill Avenue, Brush Hill Road. The pleasantest part of the 
village is thus traversed. From the bridge are lovely river and 
canal views, and just beyond it noble elms line the sidewalk. The 
ancient house on the west side of the avenue, presenting its ample 
end to view as it is approached, is the old Jackson homestead, the 
oldest part dating from 1712. Though remodeled and enlarged 
by later occupants, most of the original building, it is said, yet re- 
mains. Here John McLean, the benefactor of the Massachusetts 
General Hospital, and for whom the McLean Asylum in Waverley 
is named, lived through his early life. After the McLeans the 
Hollingsworths, of the paper mills here, became its owners. 

At the "two corners," our course takes Brush Hill Road and 



332 MILTON. 

winds up the hill. The narrow strip of land between the road and 
the river, extending from the McLean house past Tucker Street, 
is a public reservation, having been given to the town of Milton for 
this purpose by Amor L. HolUngsworth. Above Tucker Street 
the hill road passes fine modern or historic country seats, and, as 
high parts are approached and attained, commands splendid views 
of the Blue Hills range with the intervening valleys. On the 
brow, above the old Lieutenant-Governor Edward H. Robbins place 
(the mansion-house dating from 1734), turn is made at the left into 
Ivobbins Street, a serene old country road. Just above the Rob- 
bins Street opening, over to the right, is the Hyde Park water 
tower on the highest point of the hill, called Fairmount by the 
Hyde Parkers. And a few hundred feet beyond Robbins Street, 
from a bend in Brush Hill Road, is one of the most beautiful views 
of the Blue Hills to be had from any point. Robbins Street is 
followed through its full length across Blue Hill Avenue (at the 
corner of which the old toll-gate used to stand) to Canton Avenue. 
The extensive estate extending from Blue Hill Avenue some dis- 
tance along Robbins Street is the Whitney place. As Canton 
Avenue is approached the road crosses Balster Brook, which here 
makes a pleasant jiieture from either side of the bridge. 

At Canton Avenue turn is first made to the right, and a little 
way below, — just beyond the sharp rise over a knoll where the 
sidewalk on the right is high above the road, — a grassj^ lane, open- 
ing at the left, is entered. This lane, starting through fields and 
orchards, and soon cutting into a long sti*etch of woods, is now fol- 
lowed for a mile and a half toward the Blue Hill region to " Cross- 
man's," an ancient homestead in a clearing. Bicycles can travel 
a good part of this lane with comparatively little difficulty. At 
" Crossmaii's " one may imagine himself in the heart of the New 
Hampshire hills. The Blue Hills are near at hand, and the view 
embraces the sweep of the range from Hancock to Chiekatawbut. 
Back through the lane to Canton Avenue, turn is made to the 
right, and this avenue is now followed to and through Milton Cen- 
tre to the junction with Adams Street, on Milton Hill-slope, Milton 
Lower Mills, — a distance of about two and a half miles. Between 
the Thatcher Sti^eet neighborhood and the turn of the avenue be- 
low the " Twin Churches," this walk duplicates Walk a. Beyond 
this turn, which is to the left, the attractiveness of the avenue, 
with its numerous comfortable old houses and varying side views, 
continues. A picture for an artist is made by the blacksmith shop 
in the trees by the brookside, at the point whei'e Brook Road starts 
off at the left as the village is neared. The walk finishes on 
Adams Street by the railway station. 



p 



The Blue Hills. 

Wesieni Section, Southern Division. Boston to Readville by steam car 
Li'.. Y., N. H. & H., Prov. or New Eng. Div.], 9 miles; fare, 20 cents. Walk 
or ride from station to Blue Hill Entrance, about a mile anil three-quarters. 
Return by way of Milton Lower Mills or Randolj)!!. From Milton Lower 
Mills to Boston by steam car, fare, 13 cents ; by electric car, fare, 5 cents. 
From Randolph by steam car, fare, 30 cents. 

Western Section, Northern Division. Reached also by way of Readville and 
roads to Blue Hill Entrance. Return by way of Milton Lower Mills or Mat- 
tapan. From Mattajjan to Boston by steam car, fare, 15 cents. 

Eastern, Section, Northern Division. Boston to "West Quincy by steam car 
Old Colony Div.], 8 miles ; fare, 15 cents. Return by way of Randolph 
venue to Milton Lower Mills. 

Eastern Seclioii, Southern Division. Boston to Milton Lower Mills by 
steam or electric car, and walk or ride along Randolph Avenue, about three 
miles. Return by way of West Quincy or Braintree. From Braintree to 
Boston by steam car, fare, 20 cents. 

The Blue Hills Parkway, extending from the Nepon.set River at Mattapan 
Square to the Harland Street (Milton) Entrance, and leading to Grossman's 
Pines, on the northern tip of the Western Section, will, when completed, con- 
nect the reservation with tlie Boston Public Park system, through the Blue 
Hill Avenue boulevard to Franklin Park. 

Walk a [No. 40]. Over the Southern Division of the Western Section, 
which includes Great Blue Hill ((•)35 feet), Wolcott Hill, Sliadow Point, Silver 
Pool, Monatiquot Stream, Gray's Rock, Coon Hollow Brook, Houghton Hill 
(428 feet), Houghton's (or Hoosic-Whisick) Pond, Ponkapog Pond, Burnt or 
"Tucker-Bugbee Hill (350 feet), Rattlesnake Den. 

Walk h [No. 41]. Over the Northern Division of the Western Section, 
embracing : the Great Blue, Wolcott Hill, Balster Brook, Five Corners, Hem- 
envvay Hill(4G0 feet). Breakneck Ledge, Chestimt Rini and Grossman's Pines, 
Hancock Hollow, Hancock Hill (507 feet), Marigold Brook, Tucker Hill (420 
feet). Hillside Pond, Dark Hollow Brook, Boyce Hill (400 feet). Doe Hollow, 
Buck Hill (495 feet), and Scott's or Scotch Woods. 

Walk c [No. 42]. Over tlie Nortliern Division of the Eastern Section, in 
whicli are : Belcher Brook, Babel Rock, Bunker Hill Quarry, Rattle.'^nake 
Hill (314 feet). The Crags, Gragfoot Spring, Wampatuck Hill (357 feet). Old 
Furnace Brook, Great Dome and Little Dome, Indian Gamp Pool, Fox Hill, 
the Broken Hills, Sqamaug Notch, Nahanton Hill, Sassamon Notch, Never- 
freeze Brook, Kitchamakiu Hill, Slide Notch, Chickatawbut Hill (578 feet). 

Walk d [No. 43]. Over the Southern Division of the Eastern Section, in- 
cluding : Blueberry Swamp, Pakomet Spring, Hawk Hill (430 feet), Braintree 
Pass, Bouncing Brook, Wild Duck Pool, South East Ridge, Box Gully, Stream- 
.side Ledge, Barberry Bush Spring, The Cedar Swamp, Hemlock Bound, Brain- 
tree Great Pond. 

The range of Blue Hills, beginning in Canton and Milton and terminating 
in Quin(;y, extend a distance of ni-arlj' seven miles in an easterly and north- 
easterly direction, and form the southern wall of the " Boston Basin." With 
the exception of .small portions on the outskirts, the entire region, upward 
of four tliousand acres in all, is now a public forest reserve (taken by tlie 
State in 1894), under the name of the " Blue Hills Rosorvation," controlled 
by the Metropolitan Park Commissioners. Randolph turnpike (between Mil- 
ton and Randolph), the public road i)as.sing througli a gap in tlie range, divid(>s 
the hills into two sections, eastern and western, and tlie.se .sections we sub- 
divide, for purposes of exploration, each into two divisions, nortliern and 



1 



334 THE BLUE HILLS. 

southern, as above. Of the " takings " for this reservation, 2573.56 acres are 
within the limits of Quincy, 1439.25 acres are in Milton, 109.4 in Canton, and 
67.84 in Braiutree. Total included in the preserve, 4,189.G9 acres. The Blue 
Hill Entrance is ten miles from the Boston State House. 

The Blue HiUs are the only eminences of a distinctly mountainous character 
near the Atlantic coast line south of Agamenticus, near York, Maine ; and 
the loftiest of them, the Great Blue, is said to be the highest land on the 
coast from Maine to the Rio Grande. They rise in sweeping curves into eigh- 
teen or twenty summits, and are the most prominent landscape features of 
the south coast. From them the Indian tribe along the Massachusetts Bay de- 
rived its name of " Masadchuseuck," the word in the Algonquin tongue mean- 
ing " the people living near the great hills," and the region round about was 
known as " Massadchuset," signifying " near the great hills," wliich becanie 
transformed into the English "Massachusetts " when applied to the bay and 
the colony. The earliest record of these hills was made by Captain John 
Smith, who, during his exploration along the New England coast in 1G14, 
observed, among "the cheef mouutaines," the "high mountaine of Massa- 
chuset," probably the Great Blue, and gave it the name of " Massachusits ^ 
Mount." Later, Prince Charles changed this name to that of " Chevyot 1 
Hills," which appears on Smith's map. The name " Blue Hills " was doubt- 
less suggested by the peculiar blue hue of the range. It was applied by the 4 
early settlers of the lands on and about their slopes, but precisely when is not 
known. The highest summit is referred to as " Great Blue Hill," in the 
order of the Provincial Congress in 177G, directing General Heath to erect a 
beacon upon it. 

Walk a. At Readville the railway stations are within a few 
hundred feet of each other. Public carriages can be engaged here 
at fair rates, for the ride to the Blue Hill Entrance. The walk 
over is, of course, pleasanter, for the roads are good and the pros- ^ 
pect pleasing after the village is passed. From the Blue Hill ■ 
Entrance, at the base of the Great Blue, to the Observatory on ]| 
the summit, is about three-quarters of a mile ; or perhaps it would i 
be safer to say, making allowance for rolling stones along the hill 
path, a mile up and half a mile down. 

Starting from either of the Readville stations, our route is by- 
Central Park Avenue to Milton Street ; thence, left turn, for 
about half a mile to the junction with Brush Hill Road, just above 
Paul's Bridge over the Neponset River, at one of the most pic- 
turesque parts of the river's course ; then by Brush Hill Road, at 
the right, to Blue Hill Avenue ; and by Blue Hill Avenue, at the 
right, to the Entrance. 

Lovely views abound along this way. Soon after entering Mil- 
ton Street from high-sounding Central Park Avenue, the Great 
Blue section of the range appears on the right in fair display, and 
we have it with us, an ever-changing picture, the greater part of 
the walk. One of the most pastoral of the near views is that from 
a bend in the road, of which the triple-arched span of Paul's 
Bridge is the centre-piece, Avith the river winding in graceful 
curves through the broad meadows, beautified at intervals by 
shapely elms. The bridge has borne the name of Paul's, acqmred 



THE BLUE HILLS. 



335 



from the owner of adjacent lauds, since the eighteenth century, 
and the meadows were with the early settlers the "Great Fowl 
Meadows," so called from the abundance of birds and fowl that 
made them a feeding-ground. The river has been bridged at this 
point from an early date. The first bridge was known as " Hub- 
bard's," because it was set up by Farmer Hubbard, second hus- 



'jM^k^&- 












,#1'm 



Paul's Bridge. 

band of a daughter of Colonel Israel Stoughton, who built the first 
watei'-power mill in New England [see Walk No. 38], from whom 
Hubbard inherited a large piece of land on the river. The present 
structm-e dates from 18i9. Jvist before reaching Paul's Bridge, 
we notice, on the right side of the street, the Yallej^ station of the 
Blue Hill Observatory. This station is six hundred feet below 
the Observatory, and a mile and three-quartei-s distant from it. 
Entering the rural square just beyond the bridge, at the meeting 
of the roads, let us stop a moment at the picturesque rock-font, 
fed by an ancient spring, and drink of its cool waters. At this 
point, as the guide-boards say, we are a mile and a half from 
Hyde Park Centre, two and a half miles from ]Milton Chm-ches 
(Milton Centre), and six and a half miles from Quincy ; and we 
are in a neighborhood of comfortable estates, some of old-time 
tyiJe, eaeli with its special view of charming country. Now on 
Brush Hill Koad, skirting the edge of the meadows for a little 
way, then making a gradual ascent, the walk grows fairer as it 
lengthens. Along the short stretch of Blue Hill Avenue, we pass, 
ou the left, the headquarters and base station of the Blue HiU 
meteorological observei-s, which face Canton Avenue, here nearly 
parallel with Blue. Hill Avenue. 



336 THE BLUE HILLS. 

The Blue Hill Entrance opens into a large yard where horses 
and carriages may be left by those who ride or drive in, and desire 
to climb the hill afoot. The Reservation Road, starting here, cuts 
tliroughthe hills to Hillside Street, coming out at the Office, — the 
reservation headquarters, — on the old " Gary Farm," earlier the 
Hunt place, a distance of about a mile and a half. 

The path to the summit is the first opening at the right of the 
Reservation Road. It makes a gradual ascent until a point above 
the tree-line is reached, where the view to the northward begins to 
unfold. Two-tliirds of the way up, a spring at the left of the path 
invites the climber to brief rest. For quite a distance along the 
sides and on the simimit edges, tlie surface is covered by nothing 
larger than the scrawny scrub-oak, in place of a larger gi'owth 
which once clothed the higher i^arts. The devastation long ago 
begun by the axe has been continued by frequent brush fires, with 
this result. Under the care and direction of the commissioners, 
however, it is hoped that in course of time something of the old 
appearance will be restored, but not to such an extent as to cut off 
the view. The good effect of the introduction of the park patrol, 
one of whose duties is to prevent the starting or spreading of fires, 
is already seen, no havoc from fii-e having occurred since the tak- 
ing of the region for a public reserve. 

From the bald surface of the summit, enchanting views, em- 
bracing great stretches of coast and inland scenery, villages, 
towns, and the far-reaching city, woods, fields, and meadows, with 
glistening ponds and rivers, and distant mountain peaks, spread 
out in every direction. According to the historian of Milton, the 
Rev. A. K. Teele, the outlook embraces a bird's-eye view of a 
radius of twenty-five miles and a circuit of one hundred and fifty 
miles. With the aid of a telescope, buildings have been identified 
in one hundred and twenty-five villages, and with the unassisted 
eye, in a clear atmosphere, a great variety of objects and points, 
in a wide sweep, can be discerned. The panorama described by 
Mr. Teele, as disclosed under the most favorable conditions of 
atmosphere, presents the following splendid array of features : 
Facing northerly, Cambridge, Somerville, and Maiden, and far 
beyond, the liills of Andover and Georgetown. Turning a little 
easterly, Boston, ten and a half miles distant. Bearing still east- 
erly, Boston Harbor, with its islands, headlands, and fortifica- 
tions, over wliicli various points on the North Shore, so far as 
Eastern Point Lighthouse in Gloucester, appear. Forty miles 
northeast, the twin lighthouses on Thacher's Island ; far to the 
right, N. 55° 50' E., fourteen miles distant, Boston Light, and 
stretching out beyond, the waters of Massachusetts Bay. Turn- 



THE BLUE HILLS. 337 

ing nearly east, Chickatawbut Hill, three miles off, over its left 
slope Nantasket Beach, and over its right the top of IMinot's 
Lighthouse. Facing nearly sontheast, the long ridge of Manomet 
Hills in Plymouth, thirty -three miles distant, and at its left, 
twenty-six miles off, the Standish Monument on Captain's Hill, in 
Duxbury. In the same direction, great tracts of forest, reveal- 
ing here and there villages, churches, cultivated grounds, lakes 
set in borders of green, Hoosie-Whisick, or Houghton's Pond, 
just at the base ; then following in order, Ponkapog, Canton Res- 
ervoir, and Massapoag in Sharon, eight miles southwest. Directly 
south and forty miles awaj% Fall River. Southwesterly, Woon- 
socket and other hills in Rhode Island. Toward the west and 
northwest, the mountains of Worcester County, Wachusett, in 
Princeton, the most conspicuous. Far to the right of Wachusett 
and nearly over the dome of Dedham Coiu-t House, Watatick, in 
xVshburnliani. Northwesterly, at least a dozen of the peaks of 
southern New Hampshire. Just at the right of Watatick and far 
beyond it, the Grand Munadnock, in Jaffrey, sixty-seven and a 
half miles distant. On the right of Grand Monadnock, a group 
of smaller summits, — Mt. Kidder, exactly northwest, Spofford 
and Temple mountains ; then Pack-Monadnock, with its two equal 
summits, Ijang over the left section of Sprague's Pond. The 
next group to the right, in Lyndeboro', the right-hand summit, 
Lyndeboro' Pinnacle ; and over its left slope Crotehed Mountain, 
sixty-six miles distant. At the right of Lyndeboro' and nearly 
over the Readville railway station, Joe English Hill, in New Bos- 
ton. Nearly north northwest, the summits of the Unkonunock 
Mountains, fifty- nine miles away. The near view includes city and 
village, and at the base the valley of the Neponset, with the river 
meandering through green meadows. 

E. G. Chamberlain, — whose admirable Panoramic View in de- 
tail from careful surveys made in 1870-76, revised in 1885, and 
again in 1894 (the latter revision by Gordon H. Taylor), has been 
published by the Park Commissioners, — gives these statistics : 
elevation of the hill above sea-level, 635 feet ; above Neponset 
River, 590 feet; above Canton Avenue at base of "mountain 
road," 430 feet; sea-horizon line, 33^ miles distant; Grand Mo- 
nadnock, the most distant point certainly identified, 67i miles ; 
the true (original) Mt. Kearsarge (89^ miles), in Warner, hidden 
by the West Unkonxmock. 

The diagram below, prepared from results of observations made 
at the Rotch Observatory, shows the months of the year and the 
days in the months when the clearest vieA^'S are likely to be had. 
With its aid one may select the most promising time for his visit 



338 



THE BLUE HILLS. 



to the lull-top, and, having at hand Mr. Chamberlain's Pano- 
ramic View can determine what points are visible within a range 
of twenty, fifty, or seventy miles, according to whether Nobseot, 
Wachusett, or Monadnock is visible. It is well to note that the 
air is clearest after a storm and during high barometer. 

The picturesque two - story 
tower, with house attached, on 
the tip of the summit, consti- 
tutes the Rotcla Meteorolog- 
ical Observatory, a familiar 
object for miles around. The 
structure (Rotcli & Tilden, Bos- 
ton, architects) is constructed 
of stone found on the summit,** 
and is built in a most substan- 
tial manner throughout to with- 
stand the fiercest gales and the 
roughest weather. The inte- 
rior is divided into cozy and 
comfortably furnished living 
rooms for the observers, office, 
library with well - stocked 
shelves, and a magnificent out- 
look from broad, low windoAvs, 

or from observation rooms in the tower. It is fully equipped with 
delicate and valuable apparatus of the highest grade. The Obser- 
vatory is not open to the public, except to those furnished with a 
letter of introduction from some meteorologist or other well- 
known physicist. Continuous observations have been carried on at 
this station from its first occupation, on the first day of February, 
1884. The weather predictions here determined, and published 
weekly, are calculated by a method wholly independent of other 
stations, and have especial interest from the principle of periodicity 
which is employed in ascertaining the forecast for a week or more 
in advance. The method deals with jihenomena heretofore slightly 
investigated, the laws of which are constantly studied by the ob- 
servers of the staff. The local forecast is daily signaled from the 
Observatory, and has often had a percentage of verifications ex- 
ceeding that of the United States Weather Bureau. 

The erection of this Observatory was the project of A. Lawrence Rotch, of 
Milton, and has been sustained by him since its completion. All the current 
expenses are met by him, with the exception of the cost of publication of 
the Observations, which is shared by the Harvard University Observatory. 
The work is under the general direction of Mr. Rotch, and the vvoiking staff 
consists of a chief observer, witli assistants, and H. H. Clayton, formerlj' ob- 
server, who is directly engaged in studies of the upper air around cyclones 
and anti-cyclones. 




THE BLUE HILLS. 



339 



The pile of stones, at tlie west of the Observatory, marks the site 
of a circular stone tower, erected by Harvard College in the late 
thirties, to establish a meridian line due south from the old obser- 
vatory at Cambridge. This tower was twenty feet high and about 




The Rotch Observatory. 



ten feet in diameter, strongly built, and stood long after its use 
was abandoned. 

The earliest use of this summit for scientific purposes was about the year 
1830. In the work of the State survey, covering the years between 1830 and 
1840, one of Simeon Borden's primary stations was fixed at a point now covered 
by the tower of the Rotch Observatory. In the summer of 1845, the corps of 
engineers of tlie United States coast survey were established here. They fixed 
their station about twenty-six feet from the Borden bolt, and its shining 
signal was visible at a great distance. Thirty years later, this station was 
occupied temporarily by the State ; and in 1885 and 1886 the United States 
geological survey used it in connection with the State topographical survey. 

In the early part of the Revolutionary War, a beacon was erected on the 
summit to give warning of the approach of an enemy's fleet ; and throughout 
the war detachments from the militia occupied the height. When the news 
of the repeal of the Stamp Act in 17GG was received, the summit was illumi- 
nated ; and again, on the publication of the Declaration of Independence, on 
the surrender of Burgoyne, and later of Cornwallis, and at the Peace. 

The hill-top has been a favorite resort for lovers of nature and pleasure- 
seekers since the early days of the settlements below, and when these settle- 
ments were yet young it was made accessible by carriage. Peter Tliacher, the 
first settled minister of Milton, relates in his Journal, under date of October 
18, 1681 : " Brother Clapp and his wife, brother Paul and his wife, and we, 
went upon Blue Hill to the pillar of stones, and Quarter master [Thomas 
Swift] came to us there, and divers others ; there we dined : we came home 
by Brush Hill, they came into our house and drank and smoked it." 

The first building raised here was a rough structure, three stories high, 
built in 1798, for an observatory for sight-seers, and for the use of picnic 
parties. It was the enterprise of the landlord at that time of " Billings's," a 
hostelry near the foot of the hill, on Canton Avenue, even then ancient (dat- 
ing, it is said, from before 1681), and long famous for "fancy dinners and 
high living." 

On a spur of the hill, about two hundred yards north of the 
Observatory, is a grassy patch, near a small pool of water. Here 



340 THE BLUE HILLS. 

grows the bearberry, wbicli keeps its dark green hue far into the 
winter ; and in early spring the grass is well-nigh hidden by the 
delicate blue of the bird's-foot violet, which flourishes in great 
profusion. Many other pretty flowers are to be seen here in their 
season, such as the yellow-eyed grass, slender gerardia, wild red 
lily, solidagoes, perennial sunflowers and asters. 

There are several foot-paths by which the descent from the 
suramit may be made. One, which starts in a southwesterly 
direction, descends slightly for the first two hundred yards to a 
ledge, from the top of which is a view which cannot be had from 
the summit, — sweeping over the beautiful expanse of meadow 
and cultivated lands below, — thence it strikes abruptly to the 
road, winding around projecting ledges, and making its narrow 
way down steep guUies, yet well defined throughout and most in- 
teresting. This path joins Canton Avenue a short distance north 
of the junction of the latter with Hillside Street. Another jjath 
strikes off from the summit, nearly south, descending to a little 
grove, a favorite resort for picnic parties, not far below the top. 
It is a steep and stony path, but the shortest to the road, the dis- 
tance by it being a little over a quarter of a mile from the summit 
to Hillside Street, upon which it emerges half a mile east of Can- 
ton Avenue. 

More fully to explore this division of the Western Section, our 
start should be made from the Observatory straight toward Hoosic- 
Whisick (Houghton's) Pond, due east, striking another narrow 
path, at the top of the bluff, which descends the steep inchne. At 
the foot of the abrupt slope, a faint path branches to the left and 
runs along its base. FolloAving the latter path a short distance 
under the shadow of the cliff, we shall reach " Shadovsr Point," 
a slight eminence on the southeast slope of the hill. Here one can 
easily imagine himself in the midst of a wild and trackless wilder- 
ness ; for, although the view is extended in several directions, it is 
nearly destitute of signs of civilization or even of habitation. The 
evergreen summit of Wolcott Hill across the ravine, with the pine- 
scattered crest of Houghton's Hill a little more distant and to 
the right, lends a peculiar charm to the scene. From this point the 
graceful curving outlines of Houghton and Hancock hills, over 
the tops of which Burnt and Boyce hills just appear, are espe- 
cially striking ; while Hoosic-Whisick Pond and Ponkapog Pond 
are both pleasuig features of the landscape. And, turning from 
the bold forest growth, the spectator may gaze on the lovely pic- 
ture of peaceful valleys and meadows stretching out to the south 
and west, until tlie abrupt slope of the Great Blue intercepts his 
view. 



THE BLUE HILLS. 341 

Striking- northerly from this path, after a short seramhle through 
the bushes, we come upon a well-beaten track at the edge of 
Silver Pool, a small affair which becomes dry in time of drought, 
interesting because of the luxuriant and varied growth of shrubs 
and herbs immediately about it, among which are some kinds that 
are seldom found near Boston. Crossing Silver Brook, which has 
its source in this pool, and becomes Monatiquot Stream as it 
widens in the valley below, we pass through a pine grove ; and if 
we glance to the left, just before turning down a steep descent, we 
shall see the rock, now known as " Gray's Rock," upon which, 
one autumn morning in 1888, Avas found the body of William 
Gray, treasurer of old-established New England mills, whose sui- 
cide on this romantic spot, upon the public exposure of his affairs, 
made a deep and long-lasting impression on the community. The 
rock is flat on top, and even with the ground on the up-hill side. 

We have now covered about half a mile from our starting-point 
on the summit, and a walk of a quarter of a mile more brings us 
to Hillside Street, near Silver Spring, well known for the purity 
of its waters. 

From Silver Spring, it is nearly three-quarters of a mile west by 
Hillside Street to Canton Avenue, and about half a mile east 
to Hoosic-Whisick (Houghton's) Pond. Our way is in the latter 
direction. The first path at the left of the road leads up to 
"Five Corners Divide," so called from the intersection hereof 
as many old wood roads, a distance of about half a mile. The 
next path, on the right, about fifty rods beyond the first one, 
leads down to Hoosic-Whisick Pond, "and on thi'ough the pine 
grove on its soiithern border. The Houghton homestead stood for 
two centuries at the turn in the road near the pond. It was one of 
the oldest houses of Milton, dating from about 1090, when Ralph 
Houghton moved to the farm here, which has from that time gone 
by the name of "Houghton's Farm." The holding originally 
included about three hundred and fifty acres, a part of which, it 
is conjectured, was worked by the Indians, many years before the 
white men settled liere. Marks on rocks and boulders in the 
neighborhood strengthen this belief. The ancient house was re- 
moved by order of the Park Commissionei-s in 1805. Opposite its 
site is a path leading up to the summit of Houghton Hill. It is 
not a very plain path, but with a little care can be easily traced. 
It passes through a wild and picturesque hollow on the south side 
of the summit, and half way up the view back toward the south, 
with the shining pond in its green setting, is delightful. The 
view from the hilltop is an interesting, though not an extended 
one. 'v 



342 



THE BLUE HILLS. 



Old Houghton's Pond, by the Indians called " Hoosic-Whi- 
sick " (the meaning of which is not known), is a gem of beauty 
nestling at the base of the hills, and reflecting on its crystal sur- 
face the stately forest trees which border its shores. It is, as we 




A Bridle Path. 



have seen, one of the most attractive features of the near view 
from the Great Blue, and it loses none of its loveliness on close 
approach. Its water comes largely from subterranean springs, and 
is of the purest. The bottom is of clean gravel and sand. It is 
one hundred and fifty-five feet above mean tide, and at its average 
height covers about twenty-five acres. It contains an abundance 
of perch and bream ; hornpout, running larger than usual in ponds 
of its size, but small pickerel, owing perhaps to the sudden shelv- 
ing of its shore and comparative absence of lily-pads, where pickerel 
generally lurk ; and near the exit, eels in jilenty. The little brook 
which flows into the pond from the north has its rise in the valley 
between Houghton and Hancock hills, crossing the road near the 
old Hunt farm-house, and thence flowing down the pastoral Mari- 
gold Vallej^ which is one of the loveliest features of the landscape 
along Hillside Street. In old times far more of the hillside was 
cleared than now, and barley and rye were then grown on what is 
now pasture-land and woods. The pond is bordered on the west 
by a belt of trees, and west of these lies a wide strip of meadow 
and pasture-land. On the southern shore the noble growth of pine 
forms delightful groves along the bank, between which and the 
Monatiquot Stream stretches a sandy plain, the only extensive 
sand plain within the reservation, dotted with occasional cedars, 



THE BLUE HILLS. 64:6 

pitch-pines, and clumps of juniper. The flora about the borders of 
the pond is exceptionally rich. 

Entering by the old Houghton barn, our walk continues a little 
way along the northerly shore of the pond. The broad spreading 
tree in front of the barn near the driveway, which we must pause 
a moment to admire, is a rare specimen, — as described by Profes- 
sor C. S. JSargent, a cross between the English wahiut and the 
native butternut, only a few of which are known to exist, and all 
of them about Boston. Of the few this is pronounced the finest. 
We may also linger on the promontory at the right of the drive- 
way a fcAv paces from the entrance, and enjoy the pond view from 
this point, or take a boat or a bath ; and returning to the road, 
which now becomes a lane, note in passing the majestic chestnut 
with a circumference of seventeen feet (at four feet from the 
ground), probably the largest tree in the reservation. The road 
follows around the eastern end of the pond, where it forks, the 
right-hand branch leading to the pine groves just mentioned, and 
the other crossing the clearing to Monatiquot Stream, at which 
point a bridge carries it over. The latter path, or the Ponka- 
pog Trail, as it is called, leads to Ponkapog Pond through a for- 
est in which are many large evergreen trees, fern-covered banks, 
and wildly scattered boulders. Instead of continuing on this path, 
let us turn to the left before reaching the little river, and cross 
the clearing to its southeasterly corner. Here we must pause for 
a moment and look back toward the Great Blue, which is nowhere 
seen to better advantage. The contrast between its abrupt south- 
ern slope and the gently rolhng pasture makes an enchanting 
picture. 

From this point a faint path enters the woods, crossing swampy 
places, on the other side of which is a large conglomerate boulder. 
A little farther on, the path becomes less distinct, and we must 
turn to the right and skirt the lower slope of a rocky descent 
for about two hundred yards, xuitil we strike an old wood road, 
probably an Indian trail. Following up this road we soon come 
ujion another and a broader one. By turning here, at the left, we 
can reach the Reservation Headquarters, at the old Gary Farm. 
From this junction it is about a mile to Randolph turnpike. But 
to follow the course of the stream we must turn to the right, tak- 
ing the path which descends to its border and continues along the 
edge of the swamps lining it. The path is somewhat obscure and 
rough in places, but is well worth the trial, since it offers consid- 
erable variety in its surroundings. The stream is invariably full 
in spring-time, and in active play, dashing through the narrow 
channel, now>.falling into a deep pool, now circling round some 



344 THE BLUE BILLS. 

massive boulder which almost blocks its course, or now lost in a 
deep swamp. A shallow cave in the cliff which comes quite near 
the stream on the northern side, goes by the name of Rattlesnake 
Den ; and it is here that the rattlesnake collectors who valued the 
creatures for their oil iised to gather them by the basketful — at 
least, so runs the legend. But now these serpents are rarely met 
with, and the lover of nature should not be deterred from seeking 
this haunt by fear of a disagreeable encounter. 

The exit by this river-side path is on the Randolph turnpike, 
near its junction with Taunton turnpike, a little over four miles 
from Milton Lower Mills, and about the same distance from Ran- 
dolph in the opposite direction. Electric cars in Randolph run 
within a mile of this point, directly south on Randolph turnpike. 
These cars connect with the steam railroad at Randolph, Avon, 
and Brockton, ten miles distant. 

Walk b. Although the starting-point for the exploration of the 
northern division of the Western Section is the same as that for 
the southern division, — the foot of the Great Blue, — we mount 
the hill by a way of much more picturesque surroundings than 
those of the beaten road from the regular Blue Hill Entrance, 
and cover the ground before traversed only on the summit. This 
way is entered from the pasture on the east side of Canton Ave- 
nue, a hundred yards south of the Entrance. 

After crossing the pasture by the cart-road to the first fork, we 
turn sharply to the right, passing a small quarry on the left ; then 
follow this path a few rods to the point where it turns to the left 
and climbs the slope (the way to the summit most frequently 
taken by the observers of the Rotch Observatory in winter) ; here 
leave it, and, pushing through the brush and trees along the slope, 
descending slightly, soon strike another and fainter path, running 
in the same direction. This path leads us up to and upon a narrow 
shelf-like shoidder which extends along the hill-side for some dis- 
tance, with the sloi^e, abrupt and steep, on the right, and bounded 
on the left by bold ledges and mossy cliffs. The glimpses of the 
Little Blue and the spots of meadow land beyond, which are had 
from the path at several points, are charming, Init the richest of 
the views is from an evergreen and rocky promontory, at the left, 
near the top of the shoulder. Drawing the curtains of slender 
cedars here, Ave have the rugged outline of the Little Blue, with 
its pine-clad summit, in full view, and discover beauties in the hill 
and its setting which are lost from the higher outlook of the 
Great Blue summit above us. At the point where the shoulder 
appears to end, we bear to the left, instead of continuing down 



THE BLUE HILLS. 



345 



the depression at the right, and clamber over the roeks up and 
along the hill-side, soon striking a well-beaten foot-path. From 
the ledge near by, while taking breath, we shall find refreshment 
in the view down as well as off over the fields and pastures of 
rural Canton toward the southwest. The Observatory is now close 
at hand, and the remainder of the ascent is short and gradual. 

There is much to interest a student of plant life and plant dis- 
tribution on this way up the hill. From the pasture, at the foot, 
where the start is made, the way enters a dense mixed growth of 
chestnuts, oaks, beeches, and maples, with occasional pines and 
hemlocks, under which rich and varied undergrowth of shrubs 
and herbs continues to the point beyond the shoulder, where it 
begins to climb the rocks. Here it comes abruptly into a very 




,^^-. 'fililii, 



View on the Neponset. 

difPerent growth of stunted hickories, red oaks, hop hornbeam, 
red cedars and i^iteh-pine. Passing through this an isolated col- 
ony of introduced plants will be noticed in a shelf-like place in 
the ledge, made up of barberrj% privet, and buckthorn, which 
seem strangely out of place here. On reaching the summit, we 
again come abruptly upon a more varied and stunted growth, 
made up chiefly of scrub oak, dwarf chestnut oak, stag horn, 
sumac, low blueberry, bush honeysuckle, sand cherry, bearberry, 
stunted white oaks, pitch-pines, gray birches, and hickories. 

We leave the summit by way of the main path, and at a distance 
of about two hundred feet from the Observatory take the first 
path to the right. This path leads over ledges and through scrub 
oak, down into a little gully and out again to an open plain, — in 



346 THE BLUE HILLS. 

May blue with bird's-foot violets, — from Avhich a wide view is to be 
had of the valley below and to the eastward. From the open plain 
we strike through the pathless scrub oak down the steep in the 
same general direction, but bearing slightly to the right, and so — 
if we are fortunate enough to keep our bearings in winding around 
the rocks and crags, which here abound — reach the head of a 
gorge, which, followed down in an easterly direction, brings us to 
Wild Cat Wotch. Instead of descending to Hillside Street, we 
turn sharply to the left, and, following the narrow but beaten path 
here in a northerly direction, enter a rocky defile into a wider and 
pleasant valley. Holding this path through the valley for some 
distance, bearing to the right at forks, — the paths to the left 
would take us back to the Blue Hill Entrance, — we, at length, 
strike the Reservation Road from the Entrance to the Headquar- 
ters on Hillside Street. This meeting is at a point (marked by the 
iron pump by the roadside) about half a mile from the Entrance 
and about the same distance from the summit. The Reservation 
Road to this point is a picturesque way from the Entrance, skirt- 
ing the pine grove which lies back of the Roger Wolcott estate, 
passing through the open field beyond, into the woods again, and 
over a rise to the hillside here and the swamp ojiposite, with its 
little stream which goes by the name of Balster Brook. 

The Wolcott Pines, as well as the Grossman Pines, north of Hancock Hill 
ill the upper corner of the reservation boundarj', among which ai-e the finest 
specimen pines in the reservation, owe their preservation and present excel- 
lent condition to the care given them by father and son througli two genera- 
tions. 

Instead of entering the Reservation Road by the wood walk, 
direct from the little pond, on the right of the valley, a climb over 
Wolcott Hill, by way of a prettier pond and its outlet, ought to 
be taken. The valley pond dries out completely in dry weather ; 
while the Wolcott Hill pond, lying on the slope, near the top of 
the hill, is generally well supplied when all other ordinarily wet 
places are dry. It is inviting on accoiant of its situation, and 
because of the dense thicket of clethra, winterberry, mountain 
holly, and numerous other plants around its edges. The climb up 
is rough and steep, but i\\\\ of interest. If the tramp by this way 
were continued from the Reservation Road, along Balster Brook 
to the boundary, then along the boundary past the branch of 
Balster Brook to the path, thence south again to Five Corners 
Divide, one of the most attractive parts of this section would be 
covered. We should come upon rich and varied flora, some of 
the best basswoods, tallest red maples, and handsomest cedars 
within the reservation. 



THE BLUE HILLS. 347 

The walk from the Iron Pump on the roadside continues along- 
the Reservation Road in an easterly direction. About a quarter 
of a mile beyond we come upon the Five Corners Divide. The 
path on the right is an attractive way to Hillside Street. Of the 
two opening from the opiJosite side, the left-hand path leads to 
pleasant woods of pine and cedar, where in spots yellow violets in 
abundance are found in their season ; the other path passes through 
large pine and oak growth into a field once cultivated, but now 
covered with birch saplings. The Reservation Road now swings 
around the edge of Hemenway Hill. Opposite the head of a 
ravine on the right, is the faint foot-path which leads to the top of 
the hill, about an eighth of a mile away. Just beyond this path is 
another path leading to the right, along the western slope of 
Houghton Hill direct to Hoosic-Whisick Pond. A little farther 
on, the Hancock Hollow Path leaves our road at right angles and 
strikes up the valley which lies between Hancock Hill and Hem- 
enway Hill. A branch from the Hollow Path, at the right, leads 
up Hancock Hill [once owned by John Hancock, hence the name] 
through a beautiful elevated valley. This valley is one of the 
most remarkable features in the Blue Hills region, and no one 
who loves nature can fail to be imj)ressed with its charm ; the 
contrast between the easy slope, the graceful contour of the val- 
ley-bottom, with its even carpeting of green, its restful shade, its 
quietness, and the steep, high, rugged, rocky slopes on either side, 
into which it gradually runs. By all means climb to the top of 
the ridge on the west, and look down the steep slope into the val- 
ley below it. From the top of Hancock Hill is a splendid view. 
And here is an interesting growth of bearberry, chestnut oak, 
dwarf chestnut oak, and scrub oak, with some cedars and pines. 

About a quarter of a mile beyond the Hancock Hill branch path, 
is Breakneck Ledge, quite i^recipitous on its northern slope, 
justifying its name. From the brink to the top of the hill, the 
chestnut oak — a rare tree near Boston, and scattered sparingly 
with other oaks throughout this reservation — is the predominat- 
ing tree ; and this is the only place, except between Rattlesnake 
and Wampatuck hills, where it is to be found in quantity. The 
brook running along the base of the hill, called Chestnut Run, is 
crossed by the path farther on, quite near the boundary of the 
reservation. It is a pleasant stroll down the right bank of this 
stream, especially in the spring-time when the "run" is in many 
little falls and cascades, all full of beaiity. A quarter of a mile 
or so down the bank are the Crossman Pines, in among which 
are some of the largest specimens in the Blue Hills region. Here 
one may lie on the bank carpeted with pine needles, and find con- 



348 THE BLUE HILLS. 

tentment in idly watching the busy brook as it rushes over its 
pebbly bed twenty feet below. Just before reaching- the brook we 
strike Chestnut Run Path, bearing off in an easterly direction, 
and ultimately coming out on Hillside Street, at the top of Great 
Hill (the hill on the road), three-quarters of a mile distant. In the 
neighborhood of Chestnut Run and on the wooded hillside below 
Chestnut Run Path are many beautiful wild flowers, such as the 
moonworts, maiden-hair fern, beech ferns, baneberry ; and it is in 
this region that the black birch is found in larger numbers than 
elsewhere. 

If we choose to go round by the Chestnut Run Path, instead of 
by way of the Reservation Road beyond Hancock Hollow Path, 
we shall pass through a more attractive region. Nearly opposite 
Great Hill, which lies across Hillside Street, a road enters that 
side of the reservation which may be followed to Hancock Pas- 
ture (opposite the point where the road branches). Then a side 
trip can be taken through the pasture to the fine group of chest- 
nuts, elms, oaks, hickories, and ash, on the slope east of Marigold 
Brook, which derives its name from the abundance of marsh 
marigolds in the meadows through which it flows. The group of 
trees is one of the most perfect of its kind in the reservation. 
The turf under them is exceptionally rich. Close by is a cheerful 
spring. The view down Marigold Valley toward the pond is very 
attractive. In the woods to the east of the pasture there are rare 
old chestnuts and oaks which were evidently once in pasture. 
This quarter presents the most beautiful pastoral scene in the 
whole reservation. 

By way of the Reservation Road, from the Hancock Hollow 
Road branch, soon after passing the latter, we cross the rustic 
bridge and wind down the road to Hillside Street (or Ponkapog 
Pass) at the Headquarters. We are here four miles from Read- 
ville by the highway, and four and a half miles from Milton Lower 
Mills. Hoosic-Whisick Pond is half a mile south. 

From the Headquarters we take the road which enters the pas- 
ture, on the opposite side of the highway, in Marigold Valley. As 
we ascend the hillside, at our left are the few remaining veterans 
of what was once Governor Hancock's orchard of flourishing apple 
and peach trees. At a distance of about a quarter of a mile from 
the entrance of the pasture, we come out upon the road which 
connects with Hillside Street at the top of Great Hill, half a mile 
north. The pond at the northern base of Great Hill, called Hill- 
side Pond, is a pretty piece of water, harmonizing so well with 
the landscape that no one would imagine that it is an artificial 
work. It was made some years ago by Charles L. Copeland, a land- 
owner of the neighborhood, for an ice pond. 



THE BLUE HILLS. 349 

At the junction with the Reservation Road we turn to the right 
and follow the di-iveway to the south and east. The branch road 
on the right, soon reached, leads to the edge of Monatiquot 
Stream ; and that next beyond, the cart-path on the other side, 
leads to the old " Bugbee cellar," not far distant. This old cel- 
lar marks the house in the woods built early in the present century 
by Bugbee, keeper of a tavern in Roxbury, who owned a part of 
Burnt Hill, and it is the site, perhaps, of a former house built by 
an earlier Bugbee during the Revolution, as a retreat from the 
British. The cellar and weU-holes, and the square-walled garden, 
near by, can all be traced ; and about them are a number of the 
introduced plants which are always present about old house sites. 
Farther on the main road passes, on the left, the cleared acre of 
land surrounded by a stone wall, which was the clearing in front 
of the Bugbee house. 

Just beyond these interesting landmarks we swing to the left, 
and soon strike an old road which continues in a northerly direc- 
tion. Carriages must here keep the main road, which turns sharj^ly 
to the right, skirting the northerly slope of Burnt Hill, and at the 
next fork take the right branch. Passing through a recent clear- 
ing, and then through woods, Randolph Avenue is reached at the 
junction with Forest Street. We who are afoot, however, and 
those on horseback, will find the "Three Hills Bridle Path" the 
pleasanter way. This path reaches high elevations on Tucker, 
Boyce, and Buck hills, and commands extended views which well 
repay one for the climbing. From Tucker Hill we look over 
Burnt HiU to the region beyond, and on either hand the range, 
with its varied outlines, appears to good advantage. The ascent 
of the hiU from the northwest is gradual and uniform, and the top 
can, in fact, be reached by carriage from that direction ; but on the 
south it is abrupt and rocky. The dwarf chestnut oak is to be 
found in abundance on this hill-top. In the hills immediately east 
it is also frequently found, but, as has before been stated, it is not 
frequent elsewhere. 

Returning to the junction at the base of the hill, we take the 
turn leading northeasterly to the rail bridge over the stream, Dark 
Hollow Brook, which drains Porter Lot Swamp. The path lead- 
ing off to the north, just before the bridge is reached, passes down 
the valley, with the brook on the right and a rocky slope on the 
left, by Hillside Pond to Hillside Street, half a mile off, and is 
picturesque and interesting throughout. Just over the wall be- 
tween the two pastures east of Hillside Pool, is to be seen an 
exceptionally fine black birch growing between and forcing apart 
two great boulders. It is a remarkable feature, and compares 



350 THE BLUE HILLS. 

favorably with the "Hemlock Bound." [See Walk dJ] A little 
beyond this, to the right, is Witch Hazel Run, so called because 
of the witch hazels, which are finer here than elsewhere, and which 
make a perfect bower of foliage over a pretty walk. Crossing the 
bridge, the way skirts Porter Lot Swamp for a short distance, 
then ascends the southern slope of Boyce Hill, and follows around 
its southern and eastern sides. Boyce Hill is more wooded on 
the summit than most of the hills of the range, and does not 
offer a particularly good view. 

Turning to the left at the junction with the road on the right, 
we continue in a northerly direction, to the meeting near the Twin 
Bridges. Here the straight-ahead path leads out to Forest Street 
at the northern edge of the reservation, a quarter of a mile from 
Hillside Street. Our way is by the patli crossing the Twin Bridges 
and winding around the south slope of Buck Hill. From the pcnnt 
where the cliff rises precipitously on the left it is about a quarter 
of a mile to the summit of Buck Hill, which commands one of the 
finest views in the range. This reached, to the eastward we look 
down upon Randolph turnpike, passing through the hills and be- 
yond ; and through the deep valley which lies between the rugged 
slopes of Chickatawbut and Bear hills, we see the sparkling ocean ; 
to the south, over far-reaching tree-tops, the distant hills appear ; 
to the west, every hill in the range which lies in this direction, 
with the exception of the Little Blue, is outlined ; and to the 
north is an extended view not very different from that obtained 
from some of the other hills. The top of the cliff and much of 
the southern slope of the summit of the hill is carpeted with the 
bearberry, which is much finer here than elsewhere in the reser- 
vation. Buck Hill is so called from a tradition that, a century 
or so ago, a local huntsman killed, on its slope, a large buck with 
long-branching antlers, the last deer killed in the neighboi-hood. 

Back again to the point where we left the road to make the hill- 
top, we are within three-eighths of a mile of Forest Street. Reach- 
ing Forest Street, and turning to the right, a short walk brings us 
to a cart-road, which connects with Randolph turnpike. From 
this junction, it is a mile, in a northerly direction, to the corner of 
the turnpike and Hillside Street, and three-quarters of a mile, in 
the opposite direction, to Monatiquot Stream. This makes it four 
miles to Milton Lower Mills, from which we return to Boston. 

Walk c. A foot-path enters the reservation from West Quincy 
by way of Bunker Plill Lane, which branches from Willard Street, 
about half a mile south from the railway station. The Reserva- 
tion Road, for carriages, is reached by following Willard Street to 



THE BLUE HILLS. 351 

Purgatory Road, from which it branches to the right. Bunker Hill 
Lane forks on entering the reservation a short distance from Wil- 
lard Street. The right-hand branch leads to the Bunker Hill 
Quarry, about a quarter of a mile distant, in sight from AVillard 
Street, on the way from the station, and the left branch leads 
around " Babel Rock." The latter is our way. 

Bunker Hill Quarry was one of the first quarries worked in this section, and 
from it the stone for the Bunker Hill Monument was taken ; hence its name. 
It was to transport its stone to the place of shijiment that the Granite Rail- 
way was built, in 1826 — the first railway in the country. This was a railroad 
four miles long, operated by horse jiower. A part of it still exists in its origi- 
nal form. Willard Street was named for Solomon Willard, the architect of 
Bunker Hill Monument. 

Babel Rock, the first striking feature along the entrance road- 
way, is the abrupt rocky hill at the right, which, though not very 
high, commands quite an extended view ; and it has the distinction 
of being nearer to a railway station than any other hill inside the 
reservation offering a view of the neighboring territory. If, in- 
stead of continuing around Babel Rock, on the south, we take 
the right-hand turn, and follow \\^ the little brook, which flows 
through a rock- walled mossy valley, — a merry little stream in the 
spring-time, but apt to be dry in midsummer, — we come out at a 
point reached by a branch from the path, at the south of the 
Rock. From the south side path, along this branch path to Saw- 
cut Notch, near Great Dome, about three-quarters of a mile dis- 
tant, is an agreeable walk. The Indian Rocks are on the same 
road, about a mile and a quarter off. Through to Randolph turn- 
pike, in this direction, is about two miles. Those who love wild 
flowers will find this a fruitful region. There are cool, moist val- 
leys, shady and sunny ledges, boggy pools, gravelly slopes, in all of 
which are to be found plants jieculiar to each condition. 

Continuing by the south side road, at Babel Rock, straight on, 
we soon come to another branch, at the left, which terminates at 
Burke's Quarry, a quarter of a mile off, on the east slope of Rat- 
tlesnake Hill. A little farther on, we pass Sullivan's Quarry, at 
the left, on the northerly side of Rattlesnake Hill ; and still a 
little farther, come to another path, a somewhat faint one, branch- 
ing to the left, by which the high, precipitous rocks, rising from 
the western side of Rattlesnake Hill, may be reached. These 
Crags are alike impressive, as seen from below or from the top, 
and are a striking landmark, visible for some distance. The view 
from the summit embraces a fine sweep of valley and hills to the 
westward. The vegetation on the summit of Rattlesnake Hill, 
near at hand, is distinct from that on any other hill-top, in that 
the gray birch>-predominates. It is this tree which gives this hill- 



352 THE BLUE HILLS. 

top a peculiarly soft and fleecy aspect, when viewed from the hills 
to the south. At the northerly base of these clifi^s is Cragfoot 
Spring, where we may be sure of finding some clear, cool water, 
when many other springs are dry. 

From this point, we may cut through the valley between Fox 
and Wampatuck hills to the main Reservation Road ; but by the 
path along the base of the cliffs, crossing a cart-path and pushing 
a short distance through the woods, in a southerly direction, we 
may make the ascent of "Wampatuck Hill, and enjoy the finest 
view of the kind in the range. Looking back, we see the precipi- 
tous cliffs and ledges of the adjacent Rattlesnake Hill, which are 
thrown into bold relief by the shadows when heightened by the 
slanting rays of a morning sun. Over them bristle the many der- 
ricks of the Quincy granite quarries beyond, and still farther 
beyond, Boston Harbor appears, stretching into the sail-dotted 
expanse of Massachusetts Bay, to the east. To the southwest is 
seen Purgatory Swamp, extending to Willard Street, beyond which 
rises Pine Hill, the most easterly hill of any size in the range, bvit 
outside of the reservation. To the west the view is less extended. 
Fox Hill is the nearest at hand in this direction. Once a great 
pasture extended from the top of this hill down the valley nearly 
to Rattlesnake Hill on the east. Here "Deacon Adams" long 
ago kei)t his cattle, and often regaled his friends with an airing in 
this beautiful domain away from human habitation. Descending 
the abrupt slope on the south, we shortly strike the Reservation 
Road. 

This road runs directly through the reservation from Purgatory 
Road to Randolph turnpike. It is a delightful carriage drive, 
with easy grades, winding among the hills, by bold cliffs, along 
inarshes of reeds and through cool woodlands, strewn with moss- 
covered rocks and ledges, emerging finally into a green pasture, 
with a charming view far to the north and west. The point where 
we strike it is half a mile from Purgatory Road, a mile and a half 
from West Quincy, and about the same distance from Randolph 
turnpike. Pursuing the direction toward Randolph turnpike, 
we skirt along the southern base of Fox Hill, bordering Twin- 
brook Swamp, at the left. At the sharp turn to the left, we are 
very near the Milton line. Here a branch path, at the right, leads 
to the head of Pine-tree Brook, down which there is a rough but 
interesting path, coming out near two large boulders, about half a 
mile from Randolph turnijike. 

If we decline this turn and continue along the road, about a 
quarter of a mile beyond we pass near the top of Nahanton Hill, 
reached by a branch path. On the way through the thick woods, 



THE BLUE HILLS. 353 

as the road makes a slight ascent, we pass, on the left side, the 
site of the hut of a Frenchman and his wife, built in the twenties 
or thirties, far removed from any road. Here this lone couple 
secreted themselves for years, subsisting by raidmg the hen-coops 
of the neighboring towns and fishing in the ponds among the hills, 
until one day their lair was discovered and destroyed by a party 
of men of Braintree. Soon the main road turns to the right, lead- 
ing across the Copeland's Pasture, formerly jjart of Brush Hill 
Pasture, where, years ago. Captain Nathaniel Tucker, of Milton, 
kept a large flock of sheep. Here we take the path to the left, 
and make the hill. 

The view from Nahanton Hill is of wider extent and richer 
than that from the liigher top of Chickatawbut. Looking to the 
northeast, over and beyond the rough woodlands stretching to- 
ward the horizon, we get the finest or the fullest view of Boston 
Harbor and Massachusetts Bay to be had from any jioint in these 
hills. Crossing the ledges to the southern part of the summit, we 
have an extended view to the south, including several ponds, the 
nearest one, over and beyond the Cedar SwamiJ, being Braintree 
Great Pond, If we approach nearer the edge, we may look down 
into a beautiful little pool, upon the surface of which, when full, 
as it invariably is in spring-time, are mirrored the steep cliffs, on 
the farther side. On these cliffs and on Eagle Rock is a finer dis- 
play of the evergreen polypody than is to be seen elsewhere in the 
region excepting, possibly, on Breakneck Ledge. From this pool, 
which lies in Sassamon Notch, Never-Freeze Brook flows down, to 
join, a little way below, the stream rising from Sqamaug Notch, and 
so on into the Cedar Swamp. Eagle Rock, the large picturesque 
boidder standing apart from the neighboring cliff, is at the north 
end of the notch. East of Nahanton Hill are the Broken Hills, 
which are part of the ridge extending easterly from Chickatawbut 
Hill. Sqamaug Notch, to the east of Nahanton Hill, is some- 
what abrupt, especially toward the south, where it widens into a 
deep glen with walls of rocks on three sides. 

From the pomt where we left the road to climb Nahanton Hill 
it is but about a quarter of a mile to the top of Chickatawbut. 
Although this hill is second only to the Great Blue in altitude, 
the view from its summit is much less varied than that from some 
of the neighboring lower hills, largely on account of its broad, flat 
surface, which excludes the near foreground in most directions. 
Still, it is a view of no little beauty, the tip-top rock commanding 
a sweep of the range east and west, and a distant outlook north 
and south. A few rods west of this rock, Avithin the cluster of 
small cedars, are the ruins of an old cellar which has a history. It 



354 THE BLUE HILLS. 

is a tradition related by some of the older inhabitants of the neigh- 
borhood of the hills that thei-e was once here a house occupied by 
Scotch miners banished in Cromwell's time. This house they built, 
so the tale runs, and were long occui^ied in smelting iron from bog 
ore taken from swamps in the direction of Braintree Great Pond. 
It is more likely, however, that the hut was occupied by law- 
breakers, and that it dated from a much later period. Well into 
the third quarter of the present century a large growth covered 
Chickatawbut, and so late as the fifties ship-timber was cut from 
the northern slope. During the early part of the century, the 
northwesterly slope was cleared land. It then went by the name 
of Bush Pasture, and large flocks of sheep grazed upon its surface. 
From the summit of the hill to Randolph turnpike is a good 
half mile, and the point where the Reservation Road meets the 
turnpike is also the northern border of the reservation. Milton 
Lower Mills, three miles north, by the turnpike, is the nearest 
railway station for return train to Boston. 

Walk d. Entering the reservation from Randolph turnpike, 
where Walk c ended (three miles from Milton Lower Mills), we 
take the first wood road or bridle-path, on the right, and so pass 
along the westerly base of Chickatawbut, with Blueberry Swamp 
on the right. Crossing the head of the swamp, we ascend a slight 
rise, bringing us on to a wood road which starts from Randolph 
turnpike, to the south of the swamp, and runs along the northwest 
base of Hawk Hill. Here is a secluded clearing, which has been 
inhabited by not a few generations, much of the land now grown 
up to woods having once been well cultivated. The cellar and 
well of the old " Glover house," built probably about two himdred 
years ago, may still be seen on the north side of the path, about 
one hundred and fifty yards to the east of the junction, beneath 
two graceful elms. The fruit trees scattered about bear further 
evidence to the previous settlement here. From this point the 
view up and down the Braintree Pass, with the bold slope of 
Chickatawbut opposite, is very beautiful ; but that from the clear- 
ing, just above, is even finer. From the upjjer end of the clearing 
a foot-path leads to the top of Hawk Hill. 

Bearing eastward, along the main bridle-path, we are on the 
way to Southeast Ridge (sometimes called Faxon's Hill). The 
first branch from the road, to the left, leads down and across to 
the opposite side of the valley, and along the southern base of the 
principal hills to Purgatory Road, West Quincy. The second 
branch to the left enters a pleasanter region, leading down to 
Barberry Bush Spring, from which, in dry weather, a wood road 



THE BLUE HILLS. 355 

crosses the swamp to Hemlock Boimd. The only white cedar 
growth within the reservation is in tliis swamp, and there are 
many rare and beautiful ferns and flowers in this immediate vicin- 
ity. The Heralock Bound is a remarkable natural curiosity, — 
a large hemlock tree perched upon the top of a great square boul- 
der, rising ten feet above the swampy ground. The tree marks a 
corner in the boundary line between Quincy and Braintree. 

Returning to the main bridle-path, after exploring these branch 
roads, we keep it to the fork next beyond the Barberry Bush Spring 
branch, and just before the Chestnut Woods are reached, where 
we take the right turn. Continuing on this path to the next fork, 
we enter the left path, and so approach the summit of Southeast 
Ridge, by an easy grade. If Ave should follow the right branch of 
this fork, we should be led through the sag between Hawk Hill 
and Southeast Ridge to Monatiquot Stream, at a point within half 
a mile of Randolph turnpike, where picturesque meadows skirt 
the water's edge ; and about two hundred yards to the west is a 
delightful glade, with moss-covered rocks and ledges, overlooking 
the stream, which in spring-time, when full, dashes by with the 
force and clatter of a mountain torrent. This region is especially 
rich for the botanist. In the glade is an old cellar-hole, the pres- 
ence of which was discovered by the abundance of "garden- 
escapes," or introduced plants, in the vicinity. Beyond is pictur- 
esque Streamside Ledge, a bare, sloping surface of rock, which 
drops abruptly down to the stream below. In the valley below 
this ledge and alongside the stream are to be seen evidences of 
artificial construction, perhaps an old sluice-way. In another 
ledge and boulder by the stream, on the side of the Taunton turn- 
pike, are two remarkable bowls, which, it is believed, were used 
by the Indians in grinding corn. 

Keeping to the left branch of the fork, up Southeast Kidge, 
less than a quarter of a mile from its start, and ahnost on the 
summit of the hill, we come to a pond-hole, known as "Wild Duck 
Pool (so called because of the great numbers of wild duck which 
at one time gathered here, and were rich game for the neighbor- 
ing hunters). A branch from the road, to the left, just before this 
pool is reached, leads down to the Barberry Bush Spring. We 
turn, however, to the right, by the southern side of the pool, and 
emerge from the woods upon a shght eminence, from which a 
cheery view of fields and woodlands, farm-houses and church 
steeples, to the south, is spread before us. From a point about a 
hundred and fifty feet to the left, the view is more extended, — 
indeed is one of the most important view^s in the region, for it dis- 
closes almost lihe entire range, both east and west. For about a 



356 THE BLUE HILLS. 

quarter of a mile, the road follows the crest of the hill, which falls 
off so abrujDtly, on the south, that an almost continuous view of 
the far-stretching country, in that direction, is had the entire dis- 
tance. This side of the hill is extremely wild, abounding in rough 
ledges and strewn with rocks and boulders. 

After turning to the right, and descending the hill, we come to 
a branch on the right which leads back to the wild and rocky 
south side, and terminates in Box Gully, a rock-walled gorge, 
reminding one of a box-canon in the mountains of the Far West. 
A little farther down the road, a second branch strikes out in the 
same direction, but soon runs parallel with Monatiquot Stream, 
ending on Great Plain, which slopes to the marshes along the 
river's edge. A short distance east from this last junction, by the 
Quincy and Braintree boundary, our road meets two others, one on 
either hand. The road at the left follows along the western edge 
of the Cedar Swamp, past the Barberry Bush Spring, half a mile 
north, across the Head of the Cedar Swamp, a pretty spot where 
Bouncing Brook comes dashing down over the rocks for three- 
quarters of a mile, and to the head of the swamp, about a mile 
beyond. 

From the town boundary junction, it is but an eighth of a mile, 
by a meadow road, across Meedis's Meadow to West Street ; and 
just west of this point is a private road leading down to the lovely 
shores of Braintree Great Pond, and through a group of the largest 
and finest pitch-pines in all this region. Braintree railroad sta- 
tion is about two miles east, along West Street. The electric cars 
run from Brainti*ee to Quincy. 

Randoli)h tunqjike is about a mile Avest, and at its junction 
with Pond Street (continuation of West Street) is about a mile 
south of Monatiquot Stream. From the north side of West Street, 
about a quarter of a mile beyond, and to the east of the meadow 
road, a wood road strikes into the woods and across the clearing 
to Purgatory Road, from which it is about two and a half miles to 
the West Quincy station. By taking the branch from this wood 
road, at the left, just after entering the woods. Hemlock Tree 
Bound and Cedar Swamp may be reached. 



Dedham. 

From Boston to Dedharn, by steam car [N. Y., N. H. & H., Prov. Div., 
Dedhain Branch], 9.7 miles ; fare, 20 cents. By electric car [West End 
lines to Forest Hills, thence by West Roxbury and Dedham lines], 10 miles; 
fare, 10 cents. 

Walk No, 44. Through Dedham Village ; by historic mansions and land- 
marks along elm-lined High and connecting streets; past "Pitt's Head;" 
the ancient cemetery ; about the great bend of Charles River ; over Powder 
House Rock ; across to Willow Road and East Street ; by the old Fairbanks 
house ; back to the Avery Oak ; country road walk to Purgatory Swamp, the 
Mecca of botanists ; over to Westwood ; up Fox Hill ; High Street back to 
Dedham Village. 

Dedham dates from September, 1G35, when, on the same day that Concord 
was incorporated, the General Court ordered that a plantation be settled 
"about two myles above ye Charles Ryver m ye north-east side thereof." 
The plantation was begun by twenty-two ''proprietors," moving thitlier from 
Watertown and Roxbury. Tliese twenty-two signed a " Town Covenant " in 
August, 1G36 ; then, in September, petitioned the General Court for the confir- 
mation and enlargement of the land-grants of the previous year, with the sug- 
gestion of tlie name of " Contentment " for the town ; and three days after, 
September 8, the petition was granted "by a generall voate freely and chear- 
fuUy," except in respect to name, that of Dedham being given, probably for 
Dedham in England, from which town several of the pioneer settlers came. 
The "Covenant" was in effect the town constitution, and for several years 
every townsman as admitted was required to sign it. Tliis document declared 
that only such should be received into the town as were probably of one heart 
with them " to walk in a peaceful conversation . . . seeking the good of each 
other out of all which maybe derived true peace;" provided for a settle- 
ment of difference between townsfolk by reference to two or three others to 
be speedily determined ; imposed the duty of every man owning land to pay 
his share of taxes imposed, ratably in proportion with others ; and required 
each one to become freely subject to all orders adopted necessary to establish 
a " loving and comfortable society" as well as a "prosperous and thriving 
condition of " the " fellowship." It was perhaps in the spirit of this Covenant 
that the name of " Contentment " was first proposed for the " society." The 
territory of the town was at first very large, embracing what are now the 
towns of Medfield, Wrentham, Medway, Needham, Belliiigliam, Walpole, 
Franklin, Dover, Norwood, Norfolk, Wellesley, Millis, Westwood, and parts 
of Sherborn, Natick, Foxboro, and Hyde Park. It is the shire town of Nor- 
folk county. It lies pleasantly with the Charles River on its western border 
and the Neponset River on the eastern, connected by a canal (Mother Brook) 
distinguished as the first canal made in the country, having been constructed 
by the energetic first settlers in 1(539-40, only ten years after the settlement 
of Boston. It is a place of picturesque old streets shaded by fine trees, and 
rural outlying parts. The Charles River liere makes its great bend, and the 
spreading river meadows are among the notable landscape features of the 
town. Other attractions are its several hills, — Federal Hill (200 feet), near- 
est the village ; Fox Hill (320 feet), in Westwood ; Warren Hill (120 feet), in 
the south part, close to the Norwood line ; and Everett Hill (180 feet), in the 
southeast part. The highest elevation in the neighborhood lies in what was 
West Dedham until 1897, when this section was set off as the town of West- 
wood. South of Everett Hill is Purgatory Swamp, an extensive tract of 
woods and wet lands, which, despite its name, is a paradise of botanists. The 
town is separated into a number of villages : Dedham Village, Connecticut 
Corner, East Dedham, Oakdale, Germantown, Walnut Hill, Ashcroft, Endi- 
cott, and Elmwood. 

Going out by steam ear we step off at the modern station, — a 
comely structure of Dedham stone, with tall clock -tower, — and, 



358 DEDHAM. 

crossing: the square at the right, begin our walk with a stroll up 
High Street through the centre of Dedham Village. This was the 
highway of the early settlers, leading, beyond the village, into 
the "Road to Connecticut." It contains, as in the old times, the 
town and court buildings, while about it cluster interesting old 
mansion-houses and the chief landmarks. Crossing Washington 
Street, the thoroughfare from Boston to the interior, we pass on 
the north side, where now are stores, the site of the taverns, — the 
Dedham, Bride's, and its successor, the Phoenix, — famous in stage- 
coaching days, when Dedham was an important station on the 
Boston and Providence line, "Sometimes," it is related, "a pro- 
cession of twelve coaches filled Avith passengers, heralded by the 
horn, would draw up here for breakfast or a relay of horses." The 
village was the headquarters of the prosperous Citizens' Company, 
and shops for making coaches were here. Tlie granite building on 
the opposite side, facing Washington Street, is Memorial Hall, the 
Town-house, built to commemorate townsmen who fell in the civil 
war, — more practical than a monumental shaft. 

The low, artistically designed brick structure with arched por- 
tal, on the corner of Church Street, next above, is the home of 
the Dedham Historical Society, one of the leading institutions 
of the town, possessing a valuable library of historical works and 
manuscripts, a large cabinet collection of antiquities, portraits of 
town worthies, and much material bearing on local and county his- 
tory. The main room, with its cabinet collection, is courteously 
open to visitors. The building stands on the site of the home- 
stead of Jeremiah Shuttleworth, first postmaster of Dedham, 
which was bequeathed to the society by his daughter, Hannah 
Shuttleworth, who died in 1886. The old house, which stood here 
for about a century, was used for many years as the post-office. 
With the homestead estate. Miss Shuttleworth also gave the soci- 
ety her books and papers, containing much local historical data, 
and a sum of money to be applied to the cost of erecting this build- 
ing ; giving a like sum to the town to be added to other funds for 
the erection of a public library building. Recognition of her gen- 
erosity is made in the inscription on the tablet in the entrance 
porch. 

The Dedham Historical Society, formed in 1850, is one of tlie most note- 
worthy of the societies of its kind in the neighborhood of Boston. It has a 
large niembei-ship, including the best authorities on local history. The presi- 
dent, Don Gleason Hill, is the compiler of the ancient records of Dedham, 
which, through his careful and accurate work, are now accessible to histori- 
cal students and others in well-arranged volumes. Mr. Hill has also con- 
tributed much to antiquarian literature. 

A little way down Maple Place, at the right of High Street, is 



DEDHAM. 359 

the Colburn house, where the late Judge Waldo Colhurn, of the 
Massachusetts supreme bench, long lived. It is the second house 
on the west side, on the edge of upland overlooking the river and 
West Roxbury beyond. 

On High Street again, the mansion-house on the north side, a 
few rods west of the Historical Society's building, is the old Dr. 
Nathaniel Ames house, built by Dr. Ames in 1772, and occupied 
by him for half a century, — until his death in 1822. He was the 
elder brother of Fisher Ames, lawyer and statesman, one of Ded- 
ham's foremost citizens, and son of Dr. Nathaniel Ames, known 
as "the almanac-maker," who published famous almanacs from 
172G to 1765, which Nathaniel 2d continued for about ten years 
longer. The diary of Nathaniel 2d (from 1758 to 1822), which 
came to the Historical Society through Miss Shuttleworth, who 
was his niece, is one of the most interesting of the manuscripts in 
the society's collection. The house is now occupied by Dr. J. P. 
Maynard. Above, on the same side, the Fisher Ames house 
stood until 1897, when it was moved to the rear of the lot on River 
Place. This was built in 1795, and was the dwelling of Fisher 
Ames until his death, in 1808. It is the present home of Frederick 
J. Stimson, the author of "King Noanett." Since Ames' time, 
the house has been enlarged and considerably reconstructed, but 
the old frame remains in the main portion, and the form of the 
drawing-rooms is unchanged. In its original shape it was a square 
house, with hip roof and balustrade. Among its extensive out- 
buildings was a carriage-house with a high-arched doorway. 

Just off of High Street in what is now Ames Street is the site 
of the ancient Woodward Tavern, where was organized the 
" Suffolk Convention " of September, 1774, which three days later, 
at its adjourned meeting in the Vose mansion-house at Milton, 
adopted the "Suffolk Resolves," drawn by General Joseph War- 
ren [see Walk No. 38, p. 319]. The tavern was also the birthplace 
of Fisher Ames. It was then a century-old "ordinary," having 
been first opened in 1658 by Joshua Fisher. It was kept by Dr. 
Nathaniel Ames, Sr., from 1735 to 1764, and was known as the 
Ames Tavern until 1772, after which it became WoodAvard's. It 
stood near the large white elm near the west corner, which, by the 
way, Fisher iiraes planted about the year 1800. 

The handsome mansion-house next above Ames Street, beliind 
a noble row of English elms, is the Samuel Haven house, built 
in 1795. Judge Haven, a son of the fifth minister of Dedham, 
was a distinguished townsman, a register of probate for Norfolk 
county for a period of forty years from the formation of the 
county, in 1793,Justice of the court of common pleas from 1802 to 



360 



DEDHAM. 



1804, and chief justice from 1804 to 1811, when this court was 
abolished. It is said that he spent much time and money in build- 
ing his house and embellishing the grounds about it, making it one 
of the most beautiful estates in the county. The Haven elms, as 
they are called, were brought from England at the same time as 
the " Paddock ehns " (about 17G2), which used to beautify the 
sidewalk in front of the Granary Burying-ground in Boston (and 
were cut down before their time at the demand of a street railway 
company). The place is now occupied by John R. Bullard, in 
whose family it has been for rriany years. 

The granite Court House, opposite these houses, is a modern 
structure of recent construction, the third court house since Ded- 
ham became the shire town of the county. 




County Court House. 



On the parish green, just above the Court House, in the corner 
close to the sidewalk, we come upon a quaint stone monument 
commemorating the repeal of the Stamp Act in 176(5. This is the 
base of the "Pillar of Liberty," popularly known as "Pitt's 
Head," which was erected by the Dedham "Sons of Liberty " on 
the 22d of July, as Dr. Ames recorded in his diary, "in the 
presence of a vast concourse of people." It supported a tall wooden 
column, which was subsequently surmounted by a bust of William 
Pitt, carved by one Shilling, a wood-carver of Boston, well known 
in his day through a number of similar busts and figures of his 
execution which adorned the entrances to houses of Boston gran- 



DEDHAM. 361 

dees. In less than three years after its erection the pillar was 
overthrown in the night time, and after the Revolution both pillar 
and bust lay unheeded on the ground, "Pitt's Head" a football 
for the village boys, vmtil they finally disappeared. The original 
inscriptions on the stone are as follows : — 

[Westerly face.] 
The Pillar of Liberty 
Erected by the Sons of Liberty 
in this vicinity. 

Laus Deo Regi, et Immunitat™ 
autoribus q. maxime Patrono 
Pitt, qui Rempub rnrsum evulsit 
Faucibus Orci. 

[Northerly face.] 
The Pillar of Liberty 
To the Honor of Will°> Pitt Esqr 
& other Patriots who saved 
America from impending Slav 
ry, & confirm'd our most loyal 
Affection to Ks George III by pro 
curing a Repeal of the Stamp Act, 
18">, March, 17GG. 

Also on the northerly face is this inscription : — 

Erected here July 22, 17G6 
by Doct'- Nathi Ames 2>»i. 
Col. Ebenr Battle, Maj Abijah 
Draper & other Patriots friendly 
to the Rights of the Colonies at 
that day. 

Replaced by the Citizens 
July 4. 1828. 

The tablet on the easterly face, giving the story of the monu- 
ment in brief, was i^laced on the occasion of the two hundred and 
fiftieth anniversary of the town, in ISSG. 

On Court Street, at the junction with Church Street, is the house 
in which Horace Mann had his law office when he dwelt in Ded- 
ham, between 1S28 and 1835. The large white elms on and near 
Court Street, planted in 1790, challenge the admiration of all tree 
lovers. The Unitarian Church, on High Street just beyond Pitt's 
Head, is on or near the site of the first meeting-house of the town, 
begun in 1(538. The present building itself is old. It was built in 
1763, the third in Hue from the first church. It has, to be sure, 
been repeatedly enlarged and much made over, but it yet retains 
the fabric of the original. The site of the first school-house, built 
in 1(>48, which Dedhamites maintain was the first free public 
school in the country, supported by taxation substantially as in 
modern times, is near the Unitarian vestry. Bullard Street, west 
of High Street, leads toward the ancient burying-ground, where 



362 DEDHAM. 

lies the dust of all the first generation of Dedham settlers. This 
is the part of the present cemetery bounded by Village Avenue on 
the north, the Episcopal churchyard on the east, the " new part" 
on the south, and the main driveway from Village Avenue on the 
west. The way from the first meeting-house to the burying- 
groimd — the present Bullard Street — was laid out in 1664 and 
called "Beere Waye." In the wall by the main gate on Village 
Avenue is set a block of unhammered Dedham stone, with a brass 
tablet thus inscribed : — 

The Burial Place. 
This portion set apart in 1636. 
Enlarged in 1638. It was 
the only burial place for 
nearly a century. Here 
were buried Allin, Adams, 
Belcher, Dexter and Haven, 
ministers of the church, 
and AUeyne, Lusher, Dwight, 
and Fisher, with other 
founders of the town. 

The Oi'thodox Church (founded in 1822, now the Allin Evangeli- 
cal Church), on the north side of High Street, stands on or near 
the site of the house of John Allin, the first minister of Dedham ; 
and also the site of the house built by Parson Belcher, the tliird 
minister, afterward occupied by Dexter and Haven, the fourth 
and fifth ministers. 

The mansion-house embowered in trees west of the Orthodox 
Church is the Dexter house, built about 1762 by Samuel Dexter, 
bom in Dedham, son of the fourth minister. Mr. Dexter became 
a successful merchant in Boston, and upon acquiring wealth re- 
tired at the age of forty-five, building and adorning this place. 
He was a leading man in the Province, and at the approach and 
outbreak of the Revolution was an influential member of the 
Provincial Congress. But during the siege of Boston he ceased 
active connection with affairs, and shortly moved to Connecticut, 
where the remainder of his life was spent in retirement. "It is 
commonly stated that he was opposed to concentrating an undisci- 
plined and poorly equipped military force against the British reg- 
ulars " [Ei'astus Worthington] . The Dexter house is in exterior 
form and interior arrangement substantially as built, and in a fine 
state of preservation. It has the wide hall, broad staircase with 
elaborate balusters, spacious tiled fireplaces, high-paneled wain- 
scots, and pillared mantels, in the style of the best type of Provin- 
cial architecture. In this house the last royal governor, deputy 
governor, with members of i\\e council of Massachusetts, were en- 
tertained ; in 1776 General Washington spent a night here when 



DEDHAM. 363 

on his journey to New York after the evacuation of Boston ; and 
during the siege the house was used as a place for the deposit of 
the Suffolk county records. This estate is now owned by Mrs. 
Ellen D. Burgess. 

The next historic mansion-house is the Dowse house, a few rods 
west of Chestnut Street, more generally known as the Quincy 
house from its long occupancy by Edmund Quincy, scholar, au- 
thor, and reformer. It was built about the year 1800 by Edward 
Dowse, a retired Boston merchant, who amassed a fortune in the 
China and East India trade. He was a generous and public-spirited 
gentleman, and made his mansion-house a place of elegant hospi- 
tality. Soon after his death, in 1828, the estate passed to Josiah 
Quincy, 2d, who was a nephew of Mrs, Dowse. Edmund Quincy 
came with his family to live here in 1840, and it remained his 
home until his death, in May, 1877. It has since been occupied by 
his son. Dr. Henry P. Quincy. Its situation, overlooking the river 
at the back and side, is one of the pleasantest. James Russell 
Lowell, a close friend of Edmund Quincy and a frequent guest of 
the house, years ago christened the place " Bankside ; " and in his 
lines upon the death of Quincy he pictured it quite as it appears 
to-day : — 

" You are still lovely in your new-leaved green ; 
The brimming river soothes his grassy shore, 
Tlie bridge is there, the rock with lichens hoar, 
And the same shadows on the water lean, 
Outlasting us." 

A little way beyond, and we are at the Great Common at " Con- 
necticut Corner," — the Training Field in 1636, as the rough stone 
set up on the easterly corner is inscribed, — where the first trained 
band went through its evolutions. Here we turn from High Street, 
and taking Bridge Street, at the right, follow this way around to 
the great bend of the river. Passing the tennis court on the 
right, we walk toward the view limned in Lowell's verse, which 
expands in lovely landscape as we near the bend. Approaching 
the bridge we get a glimpse across river, to the left, of the 
beautiful Niekerson estate, formerly "Riverdale," the seat of 
Thomas Motley, Sr., to which he came in 1839, and where his 
son, the historian, sometime dwelt. The four-arched stone bridge 
which we cross by the Pumping Station is in place of the "cart 
bridge " of the early settlers, so called because it was the first 
bridge over the river for the passage of teams or carts. A foot- 
bridge preceded it, built in 1637. 

A few rods on we come to " the rock with lichens hoar " crowned 
with the quaint brick structure which gives it its name of " Pow- 



364 



DEDHAM. 



der House Rock." From the top of this picturesque piece of 
nature is one of the prettiest views in all the neighborhood — over 
the tranquil river, the broad meadows, the clustering town, to dis- 
tant hills. The Powder House dates from 1766, and was built by 




l««|#te..A.... 



Ai 




View on the Charles River. 



the town. Near by the Rock is the place which long went by the 
name of " The Key." It was the starting-i^oint of the Key 
Road, one of the first roads made by the original proprietors, divid- 
ing the village plain nearly in the middle, and forming the line be- 
tween the " west end " and the " east end " of the town. On the 
river's edge is the Dedham Boat Club house. 

Now we retnrn to High Street by way of Ames Street, and 
again reaching the square by the railroad station cross the rail- 
road track and turn into Eastern Avenue, around to the right, for 
a country walk beyond East Street, a road of the first settlers. 
On Eastern Avenue we stroll between thick roAvs of willows which 
gave the way its earlier and better name of Willow Road. Soon 
approaching its junction with East Street, the long low sides and 
sweeping roof of the ancient Fairbanks house, beneath great elms, 
appear in view at the right. This is now the oldest house in Ded- 
liam, built, according to the best authorities, about 1650, although 
some say earlier. As we turn the corner into East Street, which 
it faces, we have it in full detail : the main or middle part of two 



DEDHAM, 



365 



stories, with pitch roof extending over the leanto at the back to 
within a few feet of the ground ; the two lower Avings with 
gambrel roofs. The entire length of main part and wings is but 
seventy-five feet. Years ago, we are told by one of its historians, 




The Fairbanks House. 



an Indian arroAv projected from the roof, Avhich had been there, — 
none of the Fairbanks family then living knew how long. One day 
it was pulled out in re-shinghng, and disappeared. The windows 
of the house are small and of various sizes ; the doorways Ioav ; the 
front entry but eight feet wide and three and one-half feet deep ; 
the rooms low studded and of irregular shape. In the kitchen the 
beams and rafters show, and the wood-Avork has turned a " choco- 
late brown " Avith age and smoke from the Avood fires. In the par- 
lor, a wooden crane still swings over the fireplace. The unique 
old homestead is filled Avith antique furniture and interesting 
family relics. The older part was built by Jonathan Fairbanks, 
to Avhoni the land on Avhich the house stands was allotted in 1637, 
and his descendants have ahvays oceuined it. The Aving on the 
side toward East Street Avas added by Jonathan's son Ebenezer, at 
the time of the latter's marriage, in 1777. 

A short distance back on East Street, a feAv rods north of Bar- 
roAvs Street, is the famous "Avery Oak," older than the town. 
It measures sixteen feet in circumference five feet from the ground, 
and has an average spread of tAventy-five feet, while some of its 
branches extend over the ground thirty-five or forty feet from the 
trunk. When Ijie builders of the frigate Constitution, grand old 



366 DEDHAM. 

" Ironsides," were seeking ship's timber for it, thej' coveted this 
oak, but the owner would not sell, declining an oifer of seventy 
dollars, large for that time. The tree is now the property of the 
Dedham Historical Society, by deed of conveyance from the owner 
of the estate on which it stands (the Avery homestead from 1650 
to about 1800), executed in 1886, and its ijreservation is thus as- 
sured. In another part of East Street, going south, is the so-called 
Farrington Elm, fifteen feet in circumference, which family tra- 
dition makes one hundred and seventy-five years old. 

From the Fairbanks house we follow East Street south for some 
distance, passing through the village of Endicott, to Canton Street, 
about an eighth of a mile beyond the New England railroad 
bridge. Here we turn, taking Canton Street toward Purgatory 
Swamp. Off to the right of East Street before the railroad is 
reached lies Wigwam Pond (by the natives pronounced Wigum), 
with Wigwam Swamp; and nearer Canton Street, Little Wig- 
wam Pond. Green Lodge Street, which first branches off from 
East Street beyond the railroad, leads over toward Ponkapog in 
Canton, crossing the Nep onset River by Green Lodge Station, on 
the Providence Division, main line, and is one of the beautiful 
tree-lined I'oads, with a mile of willows, of this region. Canton 
Street crosses the river loAver down, and connects with Dedham 
Street in Canton, leading toward the town centre. It also has 
beautiful parts, and from one point especially, — just before our 
turn to enter Purgatory, where the land on one side of the street 
begins to faU away toward the river, — it affords a rare open view 
across country to the Blue Hills and the highlands of Sharon. 

The turn toward Purgatory Swamp is made into a short lane 
near the Everett Street junction, passing in front of the "Eleazer 
White place." The swamp lies just beyond the ridge. Here is an 
extensive area of wild swamp, and upland, and woods, which was 
given the name of Purgatory by the earliest settlers. In their 
time this and Wigwam Swamp were " dismal places and resorts of 
wild beasts ; " where Avolves and wild-cats congregated and raided 
on the young cattle in the " herd walks," or common pastures, near 
by. From these haunts the " wolf howl " was plainly heard in the 
village. The Purgatory tract extends beyond the Dedliam border 
into Westwood, Norwood, and Canton. The Fowl Meadows of 
the Neponset adjoin it, stretching off to the southward. In the 
early days quantities of wild fowl from a distance visited these 
meadows during sirring freshets. 

Purgatory is now the Mecca of the botanists of Eastern Massa- 
chusetts. Within its quiet depths the finest of our spring beau- 
ties are found. The bloodroot, hepatica, anemone, anemoneUa, 



DEDHAM. 367 

caltha, start the procession which passes in review from spring 
until antumn : violets, white, blue, and yellow, here a copse studded 
with the pink-fringed polygala, there a clump of maiden-hair ferns, 
rare woodwardias, and botrychiums, large-flowered, pamted, and 
nodding trilliums, Canada and Philadelphia lilies, clintonias, Sol- 
omon's seal in variety, grasses, sedges in abundance, rare ferns, 
club-mosses, liverworts, mosses and lichens in profusion, and in 
wet seasons the greatest array of mushrooms to be seen in this 
section of the State. The yellow cypripedium, or lady's-slipper, 
was once abundant, but it has now entirely disappeared, dug up and 
carried away by some vandal. The kalmia, or mountain laurel, 
still remains, but it seldom arrives at the blooming state and bids 
fair to be exterminated by Boston churches for Christmas decora- 
tions. Occasionally a spring beauty or claytonia, tiarella, dali- 
barda, wake-robin, and other plants of a more northern limit, 
which had been set out to become naturalized, are brought out 
from the swamp by an enthusiastic botanist. A mystical place 
here is "Hitchmgs's Garden," where the botanist, E. H. Hitch- 
ings, once set out cart-loads of "foreign " plants. This is, speak- 
ing generally, in the northwest part of the swamp, but whenever 
a botanist brings out a rare ' ' find ' ' from any part it is proclaimed 
to be from "Hitchings's Garden." 

In trees we find in Purgatory white, black, red, scarlet, chest- 
nut, white-swamp and scrub oaks ; quantities of chestnut trees ; 
various varieties of willows ; poplars ; numerous shaggy yellow 
birches ; pines, white, pitch, and yellow ; beautiful hemlocks, 
larches, cedars ; large patches of low juniper ; and the only rep- 
resentative of the yew family, — the little procumbent taxus 
canadensis, or American yew. The great swamp is traversed by 
wood roads and numerous wood paths through straggling brush. 
We should take a compass with us when entering so that our 
" stay " may not be too prolonged, since it is easy to get lost here. 

Purgatory explored, we take Everett Street, on its northern 
border, and, turning westward, strike into Westwood, Now we 
are bent, by country roads, to Fox Hill. We follow zigzag Everett 
Street for some distance, crossing the New England Railroad and 
passing Ellis Station, — Avhere yet stands a famous broad white 
oak with branches as long as its height, — until we reach the Fisher 
School-house. Here we turn into Milk Street ; then follow Milk to 
Gay Street ; Gay to Fox Hill Street, and up the latter to Fox Hill 
summit. It is a rather long walk over, but cheery with rural 
charms. From the hill-top the view is fine. To the north is the 
large and beautifid Town-house and poor-farm, noAv bequeathed 
to Westwood. To the northeastward the eye wanders over com- 



368 DEDHAM. 

liact Boston city to the harbor and bay, the light, on sunshiny 
days, striking the white sails of far-off ships. ^Southeastward ap- 
pear the Blue Hills, with Hyde Park, Canton, and Sharon across 
the Neponset Valley. 

The old Clapboard Trees Church, successor of the first meet- 
ing-house of Dedham Third Parish (which included most of the 
present Westwood), occupies the high gi-ound just south of the 
hill. The neighborhood has been called Clapboard Trees (locally 
pronounced Clobbertrees or Clobberhill) since the early daj's of 
the settlement : the name having been originally applied to wood 
lots on the eminence where the meeting-house stands, and lands 
immediately adjoining on the north and east, upon which the cut- 
ting of timber trees for boards to be used for the covering of 
houses was allowed under special permits of the early town author- 
ities. To the west of Fox Hill is High Kock in a picturesque 
region. On the road to Medfield is the curiovis rock-formation 
known as the Devil's Oven, or by the more prosaic name of the 
Oven's Mouth, while just back of this is the Moll Pitcher Tree, 
described by Wilson Flagg as the largest and finest hemlock in 
Eastern Massachusetts. In the serene village are two ancient 
houses of especial interest, — the Colburn and Baker houses, 
the former about one hundred and ninety years old. 

We may reach Dedham Village, where Ave are to take the steam 
or electric car back to Boston, by Avay of High Street, elm-lined 
through Westwood, or by Gay Street to Washington Street, on 
which electric cars run. If we happen to hit "stage time," and 
are without bicycle, we can ride over the High Street route by. the 
wagon which constitutes the regular stage line between Westwood 
and Dedham station. The distance over by High Street is about 
two and a half miles. 

There are several charming by-walks in Dedham, — to and about 
Mother Brook ; by the rivers ; into the western part and Sandy 
Valley. Beautiful trees are found in all sections of the town. 
Besides those which we have passed, the list of exceptional or 
famous ones includes the drooping white elm at Stone Haven, the 
large and symmetrical black oak at Riverdale, and the great shad 
bush, over thirty feet high, in Sandy Valley. 



Quincy. 



From Boston to Quincy by steam car [N. Y., N. H. & H., Old Col. Div.], 8 
miles ; fare, 15 cents. Return from Wollastou Heights (same line) ; fare, 13 
cents. 

From Boston to Atlantic by steam car (same line), 5.4 miles ; fare, 11 cents. 
Return by electric cars (Boston & Quincy to Neponset, and West End, Field's 
Corner and Cross-Town lines) ; fare, 10 cents. 

Walk a [No. 45]. In and about Quincy Centre, passing old landmarks, — 
the Stone Temple with the tombs of the Presidents, the ancient graveyard, 
and historic liomesteads ; along highways and by-ways past more old man- 
sions ; across to the original Moimt Wollaston ; round about Merry Mount Park 
on the water-side ; to Wollaston Heights and the site of Hutchinson's house. 
By-walk from Quincy Centre to Germantown. 

Walk b [No. 46]. To Squantum Head and return. 

Quincy embraces Mount Wollaston, where a plantation was begun five years 
before the coming of Winthrop's company by one Captain Wollaston with a 
few " persons of good standing,^' and which a year or so later, after Wollas- 
tou's departure for Virginia, became the " Ma-re," or Merry Mount of Thomas 
Morton, whose " revels and merriment " on the hill led to his overthrow by 
the Pilgrims, and subsequent banislimeut by tlie Bay Colony rulers. In 1034 
its territory, in common with that of tlie present towns of Braiutree and 
Randolph, was assigned to Boston by tlie General Court for the " convenient 
enlargement" of that town,. the men of consequence among tlie incoming 
settlers desiring lands where they might "keep store of cattle ; " and it re- 
mained under the jurisdiction of Boston until 1G40, when it was incorpoi'ated 
as the town of Braintree. In 1708, when the Braiutree settlement had ex- 
panded, this part became the North Precinct of Braintree, and eighty-four 
years later it was set oflf by itself as an independent town with its present 
name. It became a city in 18S9. Quincy is most conspicuous in the pop- 
ular mind as the birthplace and burial-place of the two Presidents Adams, 
the birthplace of Jolm Hancock, and the home of the distinguished Quincy 
family, for a member of which. Colonel John Quincy, it was named. It was 
the place where granite quarries were first opened vvitli drills, the first work 
being by Solomon Willard to obtain granite for the Bunker Hill Moimmeut ; 
and the place of the first railroad in the country, contrived by Gridley Bry- 
ant for the removal of this granite to tlie shipping-point. When its territory 
was taken for Boston, in 1634, large grants of its land were made to a few in- 
dividuals ; John Wilson, minister of the Boston church, Edmund Quinsey, 
the progenitor of the Quincy family, then a leading man among the colonists, 
and William Coddington, then treasurer of the colony, subsequently the 
"father of Rhode Island," each receiving 1000 acres. Soon after further 
grants, each of many acres, were made to Atherton Hough, sometime mayor 
of Boston, England, a leading man in the company who came out with Jolm 
Cotton, whose name is perpetuated in " Hough's Neck ; " to William Hutch- 
inson, the liusband of Anne Hutchinson ; to John Wheelwright, first minister 
at Mount Wollaston, who had in England been the college classmate and 
friend of Cromwell, who was here a close friend of Harry Vane, and after his 
exile with Coddington and others, when Mistress Hutchinson was banished 
for proclaiming the doctrine of the " covenant of grace and works," became 
the founder of Exeter, N. H. ; while several allotments known as " Brethren's 
Lots " were marked out for the " common people." These great grants were 
slowly broken, and goodly shares of several of them remained in the families 
of the grantees through generations. Quincy lies pleasantly on Quincy Bay, 
extending over rolling lauds back from tlie water, on one side into the Blue 
Hills region. The city is divided into a number of distinct quarters : — 
Quincy Centre, Hough's Neck, Germantown, Quincy Point, South Quincy 
or Quincy Adams, West Quinry, Wollaston Heights, Norfolk Downs, North 
Quincy, Atlantic, and Squantum. 



370 



aUINCY. 



Walk a. We take the short street back of the railway station 
to the square on Hancock Street, where our walk begins after we 
have inspected the Stone Temple — the " Church of Statesmen," 
as it has been called — and the old village burying-ground with its 
numerous memorials of colonial worthies and its ancient graves. 
The Stone Temple is the third church in line from Wheelwright's 




'^^■^<:^as?ir~ 



The Stone Temple. 



little stone "Chappel of Ease," the first meeting-house at Mount 
Wollaston, set up early in 1637. It stands on the remnant of the old 
village green or training-field, close to the site of the third house, 
built in 1737, during the pastorate of John Hancock, son of Parson 
Hancock, of Lexington, and father of Governor John Hancock, 
and not far from the site of the second house of 1660, which 
was on ground by the Second Congregational Church on Hancock 
Street, supposed to be near the place of the " Chappel of Ease." 
In the third house, which stood for nearly a century. President 
John Adams, President John Quincy Adams, and Governor John 



QUINCY. 371 

Hancock were baptized, generations of Adamses and Quincys wor- 
shiped, and the funeral services at the burial of President John 
Adams in 1826 were held ; while the present building is distin- 
guished as the burial-place of the tAvo Presidents whose ashes lie, 
with those of their admirable wives, in massive stone tombs be- 
neath it. 

The church is not open to the pubHc, but we may obtain en- 
trance upon application to the sexton, who lives hard by ; or per- 
haps through some city official to be found in the granite city hall 
opposite. If we are fortunate in securing this privilege we shall 
find ourselves in one of the most striking of church interiors of its 
period. On either side of the high pulpit, with its silken back- 
ground, are the mural monuments, elaborately inscribed, com- 
memorating John and Abigail Adams, and John Quincy and Louisa 
Catherine Adams ; on the left wall a brass plate to the memory of 
^ohn Wheelwright, the banished first pastor at Mount Wollaston ; 
on the west wall tablets to Peter Whitney, the eighth minister, 
and William Parsons Limt, the ninth minister. The bust of John 
Adams, surmounting the tablet to his memory, is the work of 
Greenough ; that of John Quincy Adams, over his monument, is 
fey Powers. This church was built of granite from quarries given 
to the town by ex-President John Adams toward the close of his 
long life, with the request that a " temple " be erected from 
their stone ; hence its name. It was completed in 1S28. The low 
chapel built on at the rear, giving an agreeable fijiish to the struc- 
ture, is of much later date. 

The old burying-ground nearly opposite the Stone Temple is 
contemporary, probably, with the first settlement of Braintree, 
although the oldest date found on a headstone (at the grave of 
William Tompsou, the first minister of the church regiilarly or- 
ganized after the banishment of Wheelwright) is no earlier than 
1666. It is a carefully kept inclosure now, adorned with trees, 
shrubs, and vines, but for nearly two centuries it was a treeless 
waste, an open pasture for cattle which trampled the graves and 
overturned many of the stones. Then a day came when a few 
good citizens were moved to prevent further sacrilege, and, pur- 
chasing the right of "herbage and pasturage," they gave the town 
a deed of the ground, conditioned upon the prohibition forever of 
its use as a pasture. Some years later it was given the name of 
Hancock Cemetery. 

The number of distinguished graves in this small yard is nota- 
ble. Nine ministers of the first church, with members of their 
families, are here buried, seven of them — John Hancock among 
the number — inihe ministerial tomb. The headstone of Parson 



372 QUINCY. 

Torapson's grave records that "He was a learned, solid, sound 
divine, whose name and fame in both Englands did shine." The 
tomb of Henry Flynt, the first "teacher" of the church, bears 
date of 1668. By his side lies "the body of Margery, his beloved 
consort ... a gentlewoman of piety, prudence, and peculiarly 
accomplished for instructing young gentlewomen, many being sent 
to her from other towns, especially from Boston." Near these 
graves is the tomb of Dr. Leonard Hoar, third president of Har- 
vard College, who died in 167r), Mather says, from a consumption, 
brought on by grief over his " hard and ill usage " by the college 
students. This displays an elaborate epitaph " wrote for the Tomb 
of Leonard Hoar Doctour of Phisicks." Headstones close by 
mark the common grave of Dr. Hoar's mother, — Joanna, widow 
of Charles Hoar, sheriff of Gloucester, England, who came out 
with her five children in 1640, — and his wife Bridget, daughter of 
John, Lord Lisle, who drew the indictment and sentence of Charles 
I, " and was murdered at Lausanne in 1664, and of Lady Alicia 
Lisle, who was beheaded by the brutal judgment of Jeffries, in 
1685." The most conspicuous monument is the shaft above the 
mound rising from the entrance to the ' ' Tomb of Josiah Quincy, 
1784," to the young lawyer and patriot leader, Josiah Quincy, Jr., 
of Boston, who died in April, 1775, at thirty-one, on shipboard al- 
most in sight of his native coast, whert returning from his mission 
as confidential agent to London of the Patriot party. The epi- 
taph, written by John Quincy Adams, recounts his virtues — " bril- 
liant talents, uncommon eloquence, and indefatigable application," 
which " raised him to the highest eminence in his profession. His 
early enlightened, inflexible attachment to the cause of his country 
is attested by monuments more durable than this, and transmitted 
to posterity by well-known productions of his genius." 

Other tombs of esjoecial interest here are those of Henry Adams, 
the immigrant ancestor of the Adams family, " who took his 
flight from the Dragon persecution in Devonshire, in England, and 
alighted with his eight sons on Mount Wollaston ; " of the son 
Joseph, who remained at this place and became one of the original 
proprietors of Braintree ; of his descendant, John Adams, the 
father of the President ; of the first Edmund Quincy ; and of 
Richard Brackett, who, with Alice his wife, arrived in New Eng- 
land previous to 1630, " filled many offices civil, military, and 
religious," and from whom all of the name in the country de- 
scended. 

Having now " done " the " Church of Statesmen " and this his- 
toric burial-place, we turn first toward the birthplace of statesmen, 
— the ancient houses still standing in which John Adams and 



QUINCY. 373 

John Quiney Adams were bom. These are in South Quhicy, at 
the junction of Franklin Street, Independence and Presidents 
avenues. The most direct way to them is by Hancock Street (to 
the right as we come out of the burying--ground), School and 
Franklin streets, or along the line of the Braintree, Randolph, 
and Holbrook electric cars. A pleasanter way, however, is the 
longer one, through Washington Street to Elm Street, Elm to 
School Street, and so into Franklin Street. This takes us along 
shady sidewalks for a good share oft he distance, and by houses 
of interest. 

Washington Street passes behind the Stone Temple and goes 
over to Quiney Point, thence continuing to Weymouth. Codding- 
ton Street, starting east from Washington Street, almost directly 
behind the church, is the way to Hough's (pronounced by Quiney 
folk Huff's) Neck, and is the street at which the by-walk to Ger- 
mantown begins. A little Avay out it makes into Sea Street, which 
skirts Mount Wollaston and follows Quiney Bay front to the ap- 
proach to Manet Beach. Electric ears run over it, the line finish- 
ing near the Quiney Yacht Club house. In going to Germantown 
turn is made from Sea Street some distance this side of Hough's 
Neck into Palmer Street, opening at the right, opposite Quiney 
Woods. Palmer Street leads into a refreshingly rural region, 
passes alongside of Town River Bay, and brings up by the Sailors' 
Snug Harbor, the home for worn-out or disabled tars. 

Taking Washington Street back of the church to the right, we 
soon pass, on the left, the Crane Memorial Hall, or Thomas 
Crane Public Library, a piece of H. H. Richardson's architectural 
work, well set in green-framed grounds. It is built of Easton 
granite with trimmings of Longmeadow brown-stone, red terra- 
cotta tiles and ledge saddles for roof covering, and is one of the 
chief ornaments of the city. 

This building, completed in 1882, was a gift to the municipality from the 
descendants of Thomas Crane, a Quiney stone-cutter, who subsequently made 
a fortune in New York through dealing in granite. In accepting the offer to 
erect the structure, the town voted to name it as above, and also to give the 
name of Thomas Cranp to the free town library, established about ten years 
before (in 1871). It has a capacity of G0,000 volumes, and the collection here 
housed already reaches nearly half that number. It embraces the collections 
of the Quiney Lyceum, the Adams Literary Association, the Quiney Agri- 
cultural Library, the Quiney Book Club, and several hundred volumes given 
by the late Charles Francis Adams, Sr. 

A short walk beyond brings us to the Town Brook, which courses 
through the centre of the city. Here let us turn into Canal Street, 
at the left, and, following it down to Brackett Street on the right, 
take a look at the old Brackett homestead, the oldest part of 
which (the northwest end) dates from about 1641. It is the first 



374 



QUINCY. 



house on the right after passing Brackett Street. We see in this a 
goodly-sized dweUing with the okl-fashioned small panes of glass 
in the windows. Some antiquarians have conjectured that this 
house is within the limits of Parson Wheelwright's grant of 1636. 

Now returning to Washington Street, a little way farther on we 
come to Elm Street, on the right. Midway along Elm Street to- 
ward School Street, we pass, on the right, the large white house of 
stately proportions, within a grove of beautiful trees, long known 
as the Miller place, and now the home of Dr. William Everett. 
Across the way is the old Kuggles house, at the corner of Soxith 
Street, one of the oldest houses in Quincy, and now an Adams 
house, occupied by Miss Elizabeth C. Adams and Isaac Hull 
Adams. The ancient part is at the rear, — the original house 
built, it is said, about 1641. Elm Street is one of the old roads, 
and originally led to "Captain Richard Brackett's Landing." 
The southerly end of the old " Miller's stile-path " still crosses the 
"Town Brook" at the side of Dr. Everett's place. The stile, 
formerly on Canal Street, has disajipeared. 

The walk beyond Elm Street, through School and Franklin 
streets to the Adams homesteads, is not interesting, nor, fortu- 
nately, is it long. We come upon these qiiaint old structures sud- 
denly, at the junction of roads in front of thick-set modern houses. 




The ancient Adams Homesteads. 



The first is the ancient farm-house made over, in which John 
Adams was born. The second, in the triangular lot, larger and 
broader than the other, but with the same characteristics, is the 
" cottage " to which Abigail Adams in her Letters refers, where 
John Quincy Adams was born. The latter engages our attention, 



QUINCY. 375 

to the exclusion of the former, because of its restoration by the 
Quincy Historical Society, into whose hands it came, a gift from the 
present Charles Francis Adams. Without we see the old-fashioned 
finish, and the yard with the great well-sweep ; within we have 
the rooms brought as close as possible to their original aspect, 
with ancient furnishings, furniture, and relics. The house dates 
from 1716. It was at the time of Abigail Adams's Letters but one 
room deep, of two stories with attic, the long leanto and additional 
rooms having been added at a later period. It stands now re- 
stored, a fine reproduction of old-style building. The house is 
open to the public for a small fee. 

Penn's Hill, from the summit of which Abigail Adams and her 
son John Quincy Adams, then a lad, saw the smoke of the Battle 
of Bunker Hill, Hes a little way beyond to the left. A tablet is 
placed on this summit. Presidents Avenue is a short street lead- 
ing back to Water Street and the Quincy Adams station on the 
railroad. West Quincy and East Milton electric cars from Frank- 
lin Street run through Water Street. At West Quincy is the 
Quincy entrance to the Blue Hills Reservation. 

We are to return to Quincy Centre, and we might well ride back 
by electric car. Again in the square, we now proceed up Hancock 
Street. We are moving off from the business parts and along a 
broad way with houses of ripe years on either side, generally with 
fair spaces about them. On the right, for example, near Saville 
Avenue, is the Deacon Saville house, dating from 1820 ; on the 
left, upon which side we are Avalking, the Brackett house, with a 
foreground of trees, built by Samuel Brackett in 1827, and still oc- 
cupied by Bracketts. On the upper corner of Dimmock Street we 
come to the Adams Academy, the neat structure of stone and 
brick, with gables and slender spire, occupying the site of Parson 
Hancock's house, in which Governor John Hancock was born. 
The parsonage was burned down many years ago. 

This academy was founded by ex-President John Adams, who in 1822 gave 
property to the town to hold mitil a fund had accumulated to a sufficient 
amount for the erection of a suitable academy building. After more than 
half a century had passed the present building was erected, and the academy 
opened in 1872, with the late W. R. Dimmock, LL. D., as master. Dr. Dim- 
mock was succeeded by Dr. William Everett, who, upon his election to Con- 
gress in 1893, was in turn succeeded by the present master, William R. Tyler. 
It was John Adams's express desire that the academy should be a classical 
school of high order, and it has been so conducted, preparing many boys for 
the leading American colleges. 

Above the academy Adams Street branches off to the left, and 
makes its winding way over to Milton. This was the old road to 
Boston by wayijf Milton Hill before the turnpike into which Han- 



376 QUINCY. 

cock Street extends was laid out. We are to take it to pass the 
most famous of the Adams houses, with otlier landmarks. But we 
should first walk up Dimmock Street to President's Hill, where, 
on Goffe Street, is the mansion-house built by the late Charles 
Francis Adams, Sr., in 1841, and long occupied by him as his sum- 
mer home. Behind the estate are pleasant views from the hiU- 
slope across the old Cranch and Mt. Ararat meadows. We may 
follow Goffe Street to Adams Street, or return to Hancock Street 
and take Adams Street at its beginning. 

The most famous Adams house is the mansion of long front 
and gabled wings in the bend of Adams Street just over the rail- 
road bridge, above the corner of Newport Avenue. This was Pres- 
ident John Adams's Quincy homestead from 1787 until his death. 
"In it, in the same i^oom, was celebrated the golden wedding of 
himself, and the golden Aveddings of his son and his grandson" 
(Charles Francis Adams). The place was originally the country 
seat of Leonard Vassall, a West India planter ; and Vassall's house, 
built in 1730, — small, containing only parlors and sleeping-rooms, 
the domestic apartments being in a separate building at the back, 
after the fashion of tropical houses, — is the nucleus of this man- 
sion composed of repeated additions. Vassall being a royalist, his 
estate was sequestered in the Revolution. The old style embellish- 
ments of the ample grounds befit the ancient house. The aged 
chestnut, with its six rugged branches from the low trunk, close 
to the entrance gate, may be of Vassall's day ; and the fine elms 
above it are full of years. Behind the house spread fertile fields 
through which runs Furnace Brook, a jocund stream. The inte- 
rior of the house is most interesting. Much old furniture and fur- 
nishings are retained. Besides the room "paneled from floor to 
ceiling in solid San Domingo mahogany" (in the Vassall house 
part of the mansion), which Charles Francis Adams describes, are 
other quaintly finished apartments. The short flagging from gate 
to entrance door covers the path which generations of Adamses 
have trod. The estate is now occupied by Brooks Adams, a great- 
grandson of the first President Adams. To the left and rear is a 
small but substantial stone building containing the family library 
and archives, in all not less than twenty thousand volumes. 

A type of the fine mansion-house of the late Provincial period is 
the Beale house, which we pass next above the older Adams house, 
in quite as extensive and beautiful grounds. Furnace Brook con- 
tinues on its course through this estate, giving picturesque touches 
to the landscape. An ancient sluiceway is over yonder by the gate. 
A few rods beyond, a lane opens at the I'ight, while Adams Street 
turns sharply to the left, passing the old Greenough place. As we 



\ 



QUINCY. 377 

walk on, Forbes Hill, called Third Hill in early days, appears off 
to the right and the prospect broadens. Forbes Hill is now a pub- 
lic reservation. It is reached from Adanis Street farther along, by 
way of the road passing Eaton's icehouse to the right. Among 
its charming features are its twin ponds, — Eye-glass Pond, — con- 
nected by a brook, and refreshing springs. Presently we come to 
an open field on the right, in which, back from the sidewalk, we 
observe the ruins of an old cellar. Here, we are told, once stood 
the Cherry Tree Tavern, a "very lively inn in its day, at which 
the ' bloods ' of old times used to meet to witness cock-fights," and 
indulge in other rough sports. About an eighth of a mile farther 
on is a crude mile-stone thus marked : — 

B 

9 
1730 
IN 

The initials stand for Isaac Newcomb, who marked and placed 
this stone. He lived in the old house opposite, now modernized. 

It would be pleasant to follow Adams Street into East Milton, 
but we must return to the first bend by the old Adams house, from 
which we are to make our way over to the " Merry Mount " region. 
Recrossing the railroad bridge we take Bridge Street, and crossing 
Hancock Street enter Butler Road in the direction of the ancient 
hill. 

The mansion-house on Hancock Street facing Bridge Street, 
by the side of which Butler Road passes, represents the original 
Quincy homestead of the early settlement.. Some portion of the 
house erected by the first Edmund Quincy about 1634, — of one 
story with a large attic, — is undoubtedly incorporated with the 
mansion as it now stands. The additions were made in 1705. It 
is said to be on or about the home lot of Coddington, Avhich came 
into Quincy 's possession by purchase. In the first grants of land 
the Mount Wollaston bay front was assigned to Quincy and Cod- 
dington ; and "this home lot," says the present Charles Francis 
Adams, " between the brook and the pond, and near tide landing, 
with meadows on every hand, was the prize place of the planta- 
tion." The original grant to Quincy of a thousand acres Mr. 
Adams defines as " a broad strij) of land bordering on the sea, and 
extending from Sachem's Brook in the north part to a point be- 
yond Mount Wollaston." Generations of Quineys have lived in 
this old mansion-house. Here in 1709 was born Dorothy Quincy, 
daughter of Judge Edmund and Dorothy (Flint) Quincy, the 
"Dorothy Q." celebrated in Holmes's verse, whose gi-anddaugh- 
ter became the mother of Holmes. The Dorothy Quincy who 



378 QUINCY. 

married John Hancock in 1775 was a descendant of " Dorothy Q." 
Many worthies of colonial and Provincial days were guests here. 
Judge Sewall concludes the record of a hard journey up from Ply- 
mouth on a rainy day in March, 1712 : " the day and I were in a 
manner spent and I turned in to Cousin Quinsys. . . . Lodged in 
the chamber next the Brooke." The stream is the same Furnace 
Brook which passes through the old John Adams place, its name 
here changed to Black's Creek. A flight of rough stone steps 
comes up from it at the back of the house, for use in landing from 
boats in the earliest days. For many years the late Peter Butler 
occupied this mansion-house. 

Mount Wollaston summit, the Merry Mount of Morton, where 
his Maypole of 1027 was set up, and the May party held which was 
his undoing, lies beyond Butler Road within the estate of the late 
John Quincy Adams, now occupied by his widow. It is therefore 
not accessible to the public, but a good look at it can be had from 
the road at which the di'iveway to the place begins. On the far- 
ther side of the mound is " hangman's tree," the ancient dead 
pine of which grewsome tales are told, now pictured on the city 
seal of Quincy. 

Park Street, into which Butler Road leads, takes us across the 
creek to Merryraount Park, where we may stroll over an expanse 
of wooded highland, through rural paths, or along the delightful 
water side with its fine views. Coming out ultimately at the up- 
per end of the ball ground by Merrymount Avenue, on Hancock 
Street, we follow the main road for a few rods to the avenue of 
elms (now with car tracks) at the right, in the so-called Wollas- 
ton Park, above the end of which, on the left, is the second historic 
Quincy mansion-house. On the way to this avenue we pass, on the 
corner of Hancock and Webster streets, the cottage house in which 
Fletcher Webster, Daniel Webster's son, lived for many years ; 
hence the name of the side street. Wollaston Avenue, at the right 
from Hancock Street, leads in the direction of the National Sail- 
ors' Home (established in 1866 for disabled sailors, mariners, and 
others employed in the Naval service), occupying a sightlj' position 
overlooking the sea. 

There are two Quincy mansion-houses at and near the end of 
the avenue of elms. The large one at the right, which has been 
known as the " Quincy mansion " for fifty years, was built in 1828, 
by Josiah Quincy, grandfather of Josiah Quincy of to-day (Mayor 
of Boston, 1896-97). It is an elaborate structure with stuccoed 
walls and painted a light cream yellow. A girls' boarding-school 
at present occupies it. The other house, — the historic Quincy 
mansion, — is on the left, beyond and to the north of the elm ave- 



QUINC7. 379 

nue. Ttis was built by Colonel Josiah Qiiincy in 1770, replacing a 
house upon the same site which had been destroyed by fire. Here 
Colonel Quincy lived and died, and here lived and died his grand- 
son, President Quincy, of Harvard College. It is of a handsome 
Colonial type, somewhat obsciired now by the modern hoivses which 
press close about it ; and in its day, with its gardens and orchards, 
it must have been a most attractive centre-piece of a beautiful 
domain. The interior of the house is charming, and preserves its 
period wonderfully in all the woodwork, fire-places, stairs and 
halls. Above, to the northwest, runs Sachem's Brook, the bound- 
ary of the original Quincy grant. 

From this mansion-house we take the upper road back to Han- 
cock Street, and crossing the latter enter Beale Street, which goes 
over to Wollaston Heights, a short distance off. At the Heights 
we have some good views. Just above the railroad, at the junc- 
tion of streets on the hill, a tablet in the wall of the comer estate 
bears this inscription : — 

This and the neighboring 

Wollaston Hills were pai'ts of the 

original grant of 600 acres 

made by the town of Boston to 

William Hutchinson in 1636-7. 

His house stood near this spot ; 

and to it came his wife 

Anne Hutcliiuson 

on the seventeenth of April 1638, 

when exiled from ^Massachusetts 

by the General Court of the Colony, 

and here she tarried for a brief space 

while on her way to Rhode Island. 

Here our walk ends, and we descend to the railway station at the 
foot of the hill. 

Walk h. We may stop at Atlantic station on our return trip 
from Wollaston Heights, if we choose, and take this walk to Squan- 
tum Head at once. Or instead of taking steam ear at the Heights, 
we may go back to Hancock Street, and there board a Xeponset 
bound electric ear which passes by the road to Squantum — Squan- 
tum Street — before Atlantic village is reached. 

If we make the start at Atlantic station we should cross to At- 
lantic Street toward the bay (by Atlantic Avenue, at the right of 
the station, and Newbury Avenue, left tarn), so reaching Squan- 
tum Street. This Squantum road is an old and long thoroughfare 
starting in East Milton, and making its way across country with 
many turns and dips over and around picturesque drumlins, to and 
through the great Squantum Meadows, beyond which Squantum 
Head rises. Atlantic Street, a cheerful tree-lined road, through 
which we walk with a sparkling water view before us, taps it at a 



380 



QUINCY. 



point but a little way above the marshy meadows. We take it at 
the left turn. Here it makes a short, straight run between lines 
of tall trees, then turns sliarply to the right past old farm-houses, 
then strikes the marsh. The finish is about two miles off. The 
i*oad-line ahead looks hot and dusty, but breezes generally blow 
here and the dust is not like that of the highway. Though deeply 
rutted in parts, the roadway has fairly smooth sides which the bi- 
cycle can travel with ease. Pleasant views to right and left cheer 
us as we swing along. The cedar -clad hillock, part way over, 
around which the road curves, is Noswetuset by name, or Sachem's 
Knoll, where the Indian sachem on this side of the Neponset is sup- 
posed to have dwelt when Myles Standish and his comrades made 
their visit to Squantum Head in 1621. 

We catch sight of the monument on the Head, resembling an old 
powder-house, some time before it is reached. At the end of the 




"A.-c 






• / 



ry^ 



The Standish Monument on Squantum Head. 

road we are confronted by a sentinel at the gate, for Squantum 
Head is now occupied by the city of Boston in connection Avith the 



QUINCY. 



381 



works at Moon Island ; but the gate swings open wide when the 

guardian recognizes us as friendly visitors. We first clamber up 

the hill or cliff to the monument occupying the highest point of the 

promontory. This conical tower of stone gathered on the shore 

commemorates the landing here of the Plymouth party of eleven 

men, with theii* Indian guide, who came up in their shallop on a 

trading expedition and to explore the country. The inscription 

reads : — 

Captain Myles Standish 

with his men guided by the 

Indian Squauto, landed here 

September 30, 1621. 

From this breezy point, nearly one hundred feet above sea level, 
the eye ranges over an exhilarating harbor view. Thompson's (or 
Tompson's) Island, where Standish's men fu-st came to anchor and 
landed, is the nearest island, close by to the north. Making our 
way down by the farther side of the cliff, covered Avith a tangle of 
hardy shrub and rugged cedar, we stroll around by the front of the 




Squaw Rock. 



old shore tavern, long since dismantled, to Squaw Rock, at the east- 
ern extremity, where we may rest on the benches of the platform 
chained to this bold sea-seamed crag, and watch the ships go by. 
The tradition runs that once upon a time a broken-hearted Indian 
maid threw herself into the sea from the crag, and from this legend 
it got its name in the early days of the settlement. The Head was 
named for the^^guide Squantum, but when or by whom there is no- 



382 aUINCY. 

thing to show. Some settlers were " planted " here three or four 
years before the Puritans came, probably engaged in the fishing 
and Indian trade. And from early Provincial times until into the 
second half of the present century, it was a favorite resort in sum- 
mer time. Diiring the siege of Boston it was occupied by a com- 
pany of the Provincial militia. 

We must return by the way we came so far as the bend in the 
road toward Atlantic Street. But from that point we may follow 
Squantum Street the entire distance over to Hancock Street. Here 
we take the electric car to Neponset, and at the end of the line 
step aboard a West End (Field's Corner, Cross-Town car), which 
brings us back to Boston through the Dorchester District. 



Roxbury, Dorchester, South Boston. 

From Boston proper to Roxbury District, by electric car, 3 miles ; fare, 5 
ceuts. Return from Franklin Park, by electric car ; fare, 5 cents. 

From Boston proper to Meeting-house Hill, Dorchester District, by electric 
car, 5 miles ; fare, 5 cents. Return from South Boston Point, by electric car ; 
fare, 5 cents. 

Walk a [No. 47]. In Roxbury ; past old landmarks, and by roundabout way 
to Franklin Park. 

Walk b [No. 48]. In Dorchester and about South Boston Point. Covering 
Meeting-house HUl and neighborhood ; Savin Hill ; Upham's Corner and the 
ancient Dorchester burying-ground ; Five Corners ; the Marine Park. 

Roxbury was first " planted" by William Pynchon (he who later founded 
Springfield) and sundry others of Wiuthrop's company, in the summer of 1630, 
when the colony at Charlestown were obliged " for present shelter ... to 
plant dispersedly ; " and the first mention of it as a town appears in the rec- 
ords of the Court of Assistants under date of October, that year. It was called 
Rocksberry or Rocksborough, which eai-ly became contracted to Roxbury, be- 
cause of its rocky hills "up westward." Its territory originally extended 
eight miles from east to west, and two miles from north to south ; and in- 
cluded the present West Roxbury District. The town became a city in 1846, 
and the city a part of Boston in 18G8. Within its limits is Franklin Park, the 
largest in tlie chain constituting the Boston Public Parks system. Of its sev- 
eral hills the highest is Parker Hill, in the northwest section. 

Dorchester was incorporated at the same time as Boston, in the order of the 
Court of Assistants passed September 17 (7, old style), 1630. Its first settlers 
came over in the Mary and John of Winthrop's fleet. It was named for 
Dorchester in England, in gratitude to the Rev. John White, of that place, an 
active promoter of Puritan emigration, or from the fact that some of the set- 
tlers were from Dorsetshire. It speedily became an important town, three 
years after the settlement being accounted the largest and wealthiest in the 
Bay Colony. Its territory then extended nearly thirty-five miles, to within 
a few rods of the Rhode Island line, and included the present towns of Milton, 
Canton, Stoughton, Sharon, Foxborough, parts of Hyde Park, and of Wren- 
tham ; Squantum in Quincy, Washington Village in Boston, and South Boston. 
It instituted the first special town government in New England, and its town 
record book is the oldest in Massachusetts. Situated on Dorchester Bay, 
an arm of Boston Harbor, and with numerous hills overlooking marine and 
country views, it has long been a favorite place of suburban residence, and 
of coimtry seats with gardens and orchards. It has various local divisions : 
Upham's Corner, Meeting-house Hill, Mount Bovvdoin, Field's Corner, 
Harrison Square, Commercial Point, Dorchester village, Ashmont, Neponset, 
and Lower Mills. 

South Boston, formerly the Dorchester Point of Dorchester, became a part 
of Boston with its present name in 1804. It then embraced the historic Dor- 
chester Heights, of which nothing is now left but a ragged peak. Its princi- 
pal attractions are the water-front esplanade terminating the Boston Public 
Parks system, and the yachting station adjoining the park. 

Walk a. Starts at the ancient biTrylng- - ground inclosing the 
tombs of the Dudleys and of John Eliot, the apostle to the Indians. 
Accordingly, we go out by electric car, entering the district by 
Washington Street (Norfolk House, Belt Line, or Cross-Town cars 
via Washington Street), stopping off at Eustis Street. 



384 ROXBURY, DORCHESTER, SOUTH BOSTON. 

The Eustis Street Burying-Ground is a smaU green spot in 
an iinpicturesque quarter, crowded by unprepossessing buildings, 
yet worthy of more than a moment's attention. Although its gates 
are locked, save on Saturday and Sunday afternoons in summer, 
admittance can be obtained for the asking from the custodian of 
the key. The Dudley tomb is near the Eustis Street entrance, cov- 
ered with an oval marble slab which takes the place of the original 






0k /. 




Eustis Street Burying-Ground. 



plate of pewter, cut out by some American soldiers of the Roxbury 
camp during the siege of Boston, and run into bullets. In this 
tomb are buried Governor Thomas Dudley (died in 1653), Governor 
Joseph Dudley (1720), Chief Justice Paul Dudley (1752), and Colonel 
William Dudley (1743). The Ministers' or Parish Tomb is near the 
middle of the yard, and in this are buried with Eliot five other min- 
isters of the First Church, — Thomas Walter, Nehemiah Walter, 
Oliver Peabody, Amos Adams, and Eliphalet Porter. The wife of 
Eliot, who died some years before him, was the first to be placed 
in this tomb. Among the few epitaphs here is one of Benjamin 
Thomson " learned schoolmaster & physician & ye renowned poet 
of N Engl.," an early master of the Roxbury School, who died in 
1714. The oldest headstone is at the grave of a child of Samuel 
Danforth, the colleague of Eliot, with date 1653. 

At the time of the siege of Boston, a redoubt extended from 
Eustis Street across Washington Street, then the only road out 
from Boston, which was called the Burying-Ground Redoubt. 



ROXBURY, DORCHESTER, SOUTH BOSTON. 385 

Roxbury retained a niiinber of historic mansion-houses long after 
it became a citj', and for some time after its absorption by Boston 
it was locally famed for its numerous extensive estates with embel- 
lished grounds. Several of the latter class are yet found in differ- 
ent parts of the district, but nearly all of the historical places 
have disappeared. Between the neighborhood of the old burying- 
ground and Eliot Square, to the south, where the First Parish 
Church stands, was, broadly speaking, the centre during town life. 
Just north of Eustis Street, with a front on Dudley Street, stood 
the grand mansion-house of Governor Shirley, and later the seat of 
Governor Eustis, from which latter circumstance Eustis Street was 
named in 1825. On Warren Street (reached from Eustis Street by 
way of Harrison Avenue, which makes into it), a short walk above 
Dudley Street, was the "Warren homestead, in which General Jo- 
seph Warren was born, now marked by a stone house built in 1846 
by the eminent Dr. John Collins Warren, as the tablets set in its 
front state : — 

On this spot stood the house erected in 1720, by Joseph "Warren of Boston, 
remarkable for being the birthplace of General Joseph Warren, his grandson, 
who was killed at the Battle of Bunker Hill, June 17, 1775. 

John Warren, a distinguished physician and anatomist, was also bom here. 
The original mansion being in ruins, this house was built by John C. "Warren, 
M. D., son of the last named, as a permanent memorial of this spot. 

This house is on the left side of the street opposite a little square 
at the junction of pleasant streets, in which it is proposed one day 
to place a statue of General Warren. 

On Kearsarge Avenue opening from Warren Street just below 
the Warren place, was the home of the late Admiral John A. AVin- 
slow, commander of the Kearsarge, destroyer of the Alabama. 

Taking Dudley Street from Warren, and going south, we pass on 
the right side, at the junction with Washington Street, the Dudley 
lot, on Avhich the Dudley mansion stood from colonial days until just 
after the Battle of Bunker Hill, when it was razed to make way 
for the military works erected at this point. The site was occu- 
pied for a long period by the First Universalist meeting-house, set 
in a spacious public green ; and after that dignified building was un- 
f ortimately burned down a few years ago, the temporary one-storied 
block of stores was built over the green. John Eliot's house — of 
two stories, with porch in the middle of the front, and gambrel 
roof — stood m the rear of the present People's Bank building, on 
the corner of Dudley and Washington streets, and facing the first 
Governor Dudley house. It was an ancient landmark when re- 
moved. The apostle's garden extended over a considerable piece 
of ground. The old-style mansion-house, w^ith spacious yard and 



386 ROXBURY, DORCHESTER, SOUTH BOSTON. 

stately trees, on the left of Washington Street, facing the square at 
the crossing of Dudley Street (where stood a line old elm until the 
spring of 1897, when it was ruthlessly cut down), makes a striking 
picture in this place of modern frame. It was the homestead of 
the Dunhar family, and is now occupied by a club. Though not 
"historic," it is the most interesting house of the neighborhood. 

We go up Dudley Street to Eliot Square, adorned by the old 
church of the " First Religious Society in Roxbury " gathered in 
1632, now Unitarian. This is the fourth meeting-house on the site 
of the first " rude, unbeautiful " structure in which Eliot preached 
for forty-two years of his long service of nearly sixty years. Though 
built in the present century (1804) it is of the Provincial style, 
and in its various remodelings it has not lost its distinguishing 
characteristics. The previous house, used as a signal station dur- 
ing the siege, was a target for the British guns, and it was pierced 
by many bullets, one passing through the belfry. The square has 
yet something of an old-fashioned air in keeping with the church. 
The picturesque gambrel-roofed mansion-house on the north side, 
opposite the upper end of the church green, was originally the par- 
sonage, built before 1750 by Oliver Peabody, fifth minister, and 
after his death in 1752, occupied by his successors, Amos Adams 
and Eliphalet Porter, successively, for a period of eighty years. 
During the siege it was the headquarters of General Thomas, com- 
manding the Roxbury wing of the besieging army. It is now the 
Dillaway house, having for many years belonged to the Dillaway 
family, by whom it has been carefully preserved. At the foot of 
the square, reset against the building here, is the ancient " Part- 
ing Stone," placed by Paul Dudley in 1744, marked on the left 
side " Dedham X Rhode Island," on the right side " Cambridge, 
Watertown." It is to be hoped that time will wear off the garish 
paint which has been supplied in its "restoration," and restoi'e it 
to its primitive gray. 

We now turn into Highland Street from the south side of the 
square and follow this hillside way to the site of ' ' Roxbury 
Upper Fort," marked by the tall white Cochituate Water Pipe. 
This is one of the handsome old streets, and in the houses on 
either side we have something of the old-time style of Roxbury 
dwellings. On the lower part of the estate of the late Nathaniel 
J. Bradlee, behind the stately white house of pillared front, was 
the lower fort built by General Plarry Knox. Fort Street leads 
up to the sightly hill-top which has been given the name of High- 
land Park. Until the building of the Water Pipe in 18G9 the 
fort was well defined, — one of the best-preserved, says Winsor, of 
aU the Revolutionary defenses ; and its leveling at that time, — 



ROXBURY, DORCHESTER, SOUTH BOSTON. 387 

needless, as he truly says, — was greatly regretted by many citizens. 
Its reproduction is contemiilated by the city of Boston. To the 
right of the grounds as we ascend we observe the heavy granite 
tablet placed by the city, and read upon it this inscription : — 

On this eminence stood 

Roxbury High Fort 

a strong earthwork planned by 

Henry Knox and Josiah Waters 

and erected bj^ the American Army 

Jmie 1775 — crowning the famous 

Roxbury lines of investment at 

the Siege of Boston. 

Standing back to this tablet and looking through the street 
opposite, we have a dainty view of a bit of Boston topped by the 




Site of Roxbury Upper Fort. 



glistening State House dome. From other parts of the hill the 
view is contracted by the house-tops nearly surrounding it. 



388 ROXBURY, DORCHESTER, SOUTH BOSTON. 

From Fort Street, a few steps down, we turn into Beech Glen 
Street, which partly circles the park and extends to Highland 
Street, farther on, in its curves affording views of distant hills. 
Onr course from this street is across Highland Street by Haw- 
thorne, Ellis, Thornton, and Oakland streets to Washington Street ; 
across Washington to Dale Street ; thence to Walnut Street, right 
turn, up Walnut Street a few steps to Humholdt Avenue, and 
thence to Franklin Park. This takes us through some attractive 
parts of the city, and leads us to the park by one of the several 
boulevards by which it is approached fi*om various directions. 

Humboldt Avenue at the start has quite a metropohtan air, with 
its fine buildings, and numerous houses of ambitious design mark 
the way as it proceeds parkward. But being without side trees 
it is hot and glaring in the summer sun. The long walk ends at 
Seaver Street, and we enter the east side of the park directly op- 
posite the avenue by the Trail Road (so called because it is nearly 
on the line of the Indian trail first followed by the early settlers 
between Boston and Plymouth). 

To the right of this entrance lie Long Crouch Woods, in which 
some day a zoological garden is to be established. We follow 
Trail Road, at the left, by a foot-path over the wooded knoll 
along its side, coming out on Play stead Road, at the right of 
which is The Playstead. This embraces a playground of about 
thirty acres, with The Overlook on its western border — a long 
terrace with front of vine-covered boulders, designed for specta- 
tors of athletic sports — and a picturesque shelter building. The 
Playstead at the north and east, and the Greeting, with its sub- 
divisions, at the south and east, are sections of what is called the 
ante-park. These ante-park sections, as Sylvester Baxter ex- 
plains in his " Boston Park Guide," are designed to answer 
purposes relatively to the main park analogous to those of a fore- 
court, portico, and reception-rooms, with minor separate openings 
from them for special uses. The main park is The Country Park, 
about a mile long and three-fourths of a mile wide, divided from 
the ante-park sections by the transverse road called Glen Lane. 
A large part of The Country Park is wooded, the roads and paths 
through it are rural, and in its treatment the effort has been to 
preserve its natural aspect. The Circuit Drive, with its branches 
or loops, touches or passes near its various features, — Schoolmas- 
ters' Hill (so called because William and Ralph Waldo Emerson 
while keeping school in Roxbury lived in a house on the east side 
of this hill), Hagborne Hill, The Wilderness, the meadow called 
Ellicottdale, Juniper Hill, Waittwood, Old Resting Ground, Heath- 
field, Rock Milton, Rock Morton, Scarboro Hill, Scarboro Pond, 



ROXBURY, DORCHESTER, SOUTH BOSTON. 389 

Nazingdale, Abbots wood, and Refectory Hill. At the latter is 
the chief park restaurant, a building of elaborate design, with 
general restaurant, private dining-rooms, pergola with trellised 
roof, and roof garden. The south side, Blue Hill Avenue entrance, 
is near Refectory Hill. At this entrance is the starting-point of 
the park public carriage service. The main entrance is on the 
north side, by the Parkway near Forest Hills station, with which 
the Arborway from the Arnold Arboretum connects. The regu- 
lar entrance to The Playstead is from Walnut Avenue. Other 
entrances are from'Canterbury Street, on the south side, to Circuit 
Road ; from Morton Street, on the west, to Circuit Road ; and 
from Sigourney Street, on the north, by Glen Road to Glen Lane. 

Franklin Park covers an area of 527 acres. It has 10 miles of drivewajs, 
19 miles of walks, two miles of bridle-paths, 10 entrances for both drive and 
foot ways. There are five carriage entrances and two special foot entrances 
to The Country Park. 

We make our exit from the Parkway by Forest Hills station, and 
return by electric or steam cars. 

Walk b. Our starting-point is Meeting-house Hill, and our 
course in oldest Dorchester. Going out by electric car (Meeting- 
house Hill lines, from head of Franklin Street) we ride to Eaton 
Square ; or if we prefer steam car (New England road) we stop at 
Bird Street station, from which it is a short walk to the hill by 
way of Quincy Street. If we desire to approach the hill from 
Franklin Park as a continuation of Walk a from that point, we 
follow Columbia Street (opening from Blue Hill Avenue, south- 
east comer of the park) to Quincy Street, a distance of about a 
mile, and take Quincy Street to the hill. 

The electric-car ride is through Dudley Street from Roxbury to 
Upham's Corner, and thence through Hancock Street, both old 
roads. We pass numerous old houses on each, and sites of historic 
mansions long since swept away. The famous Swan house was 
one of these. It stood on a ledge fronting Dudley Street, right 
side, within an estate lying between tlie present HoAvard Avenue 
and Magnolia Street. Woodward Park, which HoAvard Avenue 
passes, was laid out across the estate. This house, built in 1796 by 
James Swan, one of the "Boston tea party," active in the Revo- 
lution, who lost one fortune, and then made another in France, 
and afterward spent twenty-two years in a French prison for a 
debt which, holding to be unjust, he refused to pay or comi^romise, 
was as remarkable as its owner. One of its features was a cir- 
cular parlor, surmounted by a high dome, and having three mirror- 
windows ; another was a Marie Antoinette room, with draperies 
and furniture>said to have belonged to the unhappy queen, whom 



390 ROXBURY, DORCHESTER, SOUTH BOSTON. 

Swan, it was also said, was in a scheme to save ; and other parts 
of the house were furnished with rich material from the sacked 
houses of tlie French nobility. Here Madam Swan lived and en- 
tertained in state, while her husband was in the French prison. 
Lafayette, when on his last American tour in 1825, was her guest, 
received with elegant ceremony. Generals Knox and Jackson 
were near friends of the Swans, and Jackson was buried on the 
estate, his tomb being at the end of a lane of lilac bushes leading 
from the house. It was removed when the park was laid out. A 
little way beyond this site, just over the railroad crossing (by Dud- 
ley Street station), is the old Humphreys house, on the corner 
of Dudley and Humphreys streets, one of the most interesting of 
the ancient houses still standing in Dorchester. It is the home- 
stead of the Humphreys family, first settled here in 1G34, and in 
this structure is preserved a part of the first house. Several gen- 
erations of Humphreys have been born here. The original Hum- 
phreys farm has been so sub-divided that within its limits are 
to-day the dwellings of three hundred families. At the turn from 
Dudley to Hancock Street we have a glimpse of the picturesque 
old Dorchester burying-ground, upon which we shall come later in 
our walk. 

With the great upbuilding of Dorchester since its annexation to 
Boston, the cutting of sti'eets through homestead lots and large 
family estates, the erection of lines of dwellings where before were 
groves, wooded hill-slopes, pastures, and meadows, transforming 
the place from a sedate rural town to a smart and thickening resi- 
dential district, — with all these changes which have marked its 
development by real-estate operators and "syndicates," the char- 
acter of the Meeting-house Hill centre has remained quite as in 
the town life. From Hancock Street we look up, over Eaton 
Square, with its graceful fountain as centre-piece, and Dorchester 
Square, or common, above on the hill-slope, with the Soldiers' 
Monument as its feature, to the new-old meeting-house of colonial 
build, and the "Lyceum Hall," crowning the hill; while old 
houses on old streets with handsome trees make the side fi-ame to 
the pleasing picture. 

Of the streets entering or passing through Eaton Square, Adams 
Street is the east side thoroughfare to the Lower Mills Village 
and across the Neponset to Milton Lower Mills ; Bowdoin Street, 
into which Hancock Street makes, leads over to Mount Bowdoin, 
one of the highest elevations in Dorchester and commanding va- 
ried water views, and there joins Washington Street, the west side 
thoroughfare to the Lower Mills and Milton ; East Street leads 
into Commercial Street along the water side — on which some dis- 



ROXBURY, DORCHESTER, SOUTH BOSTON. 391 

tance out is the Massachusetts Yacht Club house — to Commercial 
Point. The street-car line continues along Bowdoin and Washing- 
ton streets, through the Mt. Bowdoin quarter and Ashmont, to 
the Lower Mills. Out on Washington Street are several old 
houses of note. At the corner of Washington and Centre streets 
in what is locally called Old Dorchester village, or Dorchester 
village, is the Second Congregational Church, dating from 1807, 
of which Dr. John Codman was minister from the organization of 
the parish in 1806 until his death in 1847. On Oak Avenue, in the 
Neponset village quarter, opening from Adams Street, is the 
Robert Pierce hoiTse, the oldest part of which dates from 1640, 
with stout frame of oak, and the deep windows " closed," the 




The ancient Pierce House. 



author of " Good Old Dorchester " avers, " with the same wooden 
shutters which were put up to defend the early occupants from 
attacks of the Indians." 

The fountain in Eaton Square, representing Leda and the Swan, 
with figures of the four seasons supporting the main basin, is 
called the Lyman fountain, having been erected (1885) to the 
memorj'^ of Theodore Lyman, mayor of Boston 1834-35. 

The meeting-house (Unitarian) is a new structure, built in 
1896-97 on the lines of the old one, which was burned down in 
February of the former year. That building had stood for eighty 
3'ears, and was the fifth meeting-house of the First Parish, organ- 



392 ROXBURY, DORCHESTER, SOUTH BOSTON. 

ized by the Dorchester colonists before sailing from old Plymouth, 
England, in 1630. While this building is not an exact reproduc- 
tion of its predecessor, except in the spire, having more ornamenta- 
tion, it is in the main a faithful likeness, and constitutes one of 
the most perfect models of Provincial chiareh architecture. In 
the vestibule are the old tablets bearing an outline history of the 
church and the names of its ministers. The pulpit came from 
the old Boston West Church. The clock is the one given to the 
society by Governor Gardner in 1816, saved from the fire which 
consumed the old church. From the rocky summit back of the 
meeting-house we have a pretty view through the trees over the 
bay below. 

We take High Street, with its rocky sidewalk under old trees, 
which opens from Church Street on the left side of the meeting- 
house, to Freeport Street ; Freeport Street, right tvirn, to Pleasant 
Street ; and this street for a short distance to Savin Hill Avenue, 
opening at the I'ight, which starts us on our way to rural Savin 
Hill. Pleasant Street is another old street, in early times bearing 
the sweeter name of Green Lane. The house of William Stough- 
ton, the witchcraft judge, stood on the northeast corner of this 
street and Savin Hill Avenue, on the homestead lot of Colonel Is- 
rael Stoughton, of the first settlers, he who built on the Neponset 
the first watei'-mill in New England. [See Walk No. 38.] A stone 
and a large elm marked the site until after Dorchester was added 
to Boston. The Ashmont and Milton electric cars, coming down 
Pleasant Street, cross through Savin Hill Avenue to Dorchester 
Avenue. 

Savin Hill Avenue becomes attractive at the base of the hill, 
which it strikes on the farther side of the railroad (by Savin Hill 
station). The Tuttle House, which we pass on the left side as the 
railroad is approached, is not a colonial house, nor so old as it looks ; 
but the magnificent elms in front of it are unmistakably venerable. 
This house dates from about 1822, and was the first seaside hotel 
opened in the vicinity of Boston. For half a centuiy, says the 
historian of "Good Old Dorchester," it was patronized "by the 
wealthiest and most fashionable Boston families." It was Joseph 
Tuttle, of this Tuttle House, who gave the hill its present name of 
Savin, from the thick growth of savin trees once covering it, of 
which many are yet left; grouped over and about the summit. By 
the early settlers the hill was called Rock or Rocky Hill, and it 
was " Old Hill " when Tuttle renamed it, so called because it was 
the first place of settlement. 

Let us follow the avenue circling the base of Savin Hill, with 
its border of rural estates, some witli gardens and hedge lines, and 



ROXBURY, DORCHESTER, SOUTH BOSTON. 393 

its fine shading trees, part of the way round ; and bej'ond the turn 
by the picturesque wooded cliffs in the centre, strike across the 
green field to the Grampian Way, the upper circling road. Along 
the avenue we have near water views, while from the upper road 
the prospect is of wider sweep. Houses against the rocky sides of 
the summit are thick now, but the long summit itself is yet wooded 
and wild. At the beginning of the sharp slope of the upper road, 
Rockland Avenue, by name, but really a lane, opens at the left ; 
and following this lane a few rods we may reach the summit by a 
final scramble up the rocks to the highest tip, upon which the sur- 
vey signal is placed. A fine view will reward us. If one wishes it 
is possible to return by the beach on the southwestern side to the 
railroad station. This is a great resort for yachtsmen. 

At the foot of Grampian Waj' we are on the avenue again near 
the railroad. We return to Pleasant Street, and here taking the 
right turn cross to Stoughton Street, the first opening at the left, 
by which we shortly reach the ancient burying-ground at Up- 
liam's Corner. 

This is one of the oldest burying-grounds in New England, and 
is said to contain the oldest inscription in the country, save one or 
two in Virginia. This ancient inscription is found on the headstone 
at the grave of Barnard Cap en, who died in 1G38, and was the 
first person buried here. His homestead, built before 1637, is still 
standing in the old part of the Capen house on Washington Street, 
nearly opposite Melville Avenue, beyond Mt. Bowdoin. Distin- 
guished graves in this burying-ground are many. Here is the tomb 
of Judge and Governor Stoughton (1701), repaired by Harvard Col- 
lege in 1828, as marked, with the elaborate inscription in Latin, 
supposed to have been written by Cotton Mather. Near by is Gen- 
eral Humphrey Atherton's tomb, — he who became the highest 
military officer in the colony, and was buried with great pomp. 

Two * trovps • of • hors • with • hime • here • came • sveh • worth • his • love • 

did • crae 
Ten • companyes • of • foot • also • movrning • mareht • to • his • grave 

The inscription relates in honest detail the record of his virtues 

and the moral of his life : — 

Let • all • that • read • be • svre • to • keep • the • faith * as • he • hath • done 
With • Christ • he ■ livs • now • crowned • his • name • was • Huiuphrej^ • Ath- 
erton. 

In other parts of the yard are tombs of Richard Mather (1669), 
father of Increase Mather and grandfather of Cotton blather, with 
other ministers of the Fii-st Parish : Josiah Flint (1680), John 
Davenport (1730), Jonathan Bowman (1773), Moses Everett (1813), 
Thaddeus Maaon Harris (1802) ; of Governor William Tailer (1732) ; 



394 ROXBURY, DORCHESTER, SOUTH BOSTON. 

of John Foster (1681), the "ingenious mathematician" and first 
printer of Boston, who is said to have designed the seal " or arms 
of ye colony ; " of Isaac Royall (1739), the founder of the Royall 
family's fortunes, the memorial here, bearing the carved coat of 
arms, inscribed with eulogistic biography ; of William Pole (1644), 




Tomb of Stoughton. 

the first village schoolmaster ; of James Blake (175()\ the annalist. 
Among the many quaint inscriptions are these, without names : — 

Abel his offering accepted is 
His body to the grare his soule to blis 
On Octobers twentye and no more 
In the yeare sixteen hmidred 44 

Submite submitted to her heavenly King 
Being a flower of that aetemal spring 
Xeare 3 years old she dyed in Heaven to waite 
The yeare was sixteen hundred 48 

A five minutes' walk down Boston Street, on the lower side of 
the burying-gTound, will bring us to the Five Comers ; but a plea- 
santer way and no longer is by Sumner Street, from Stoughton 
Street just above the yard. 

The chief feature of the Five Corners is the old mansion-house 
in which Edward Everett was born. The square here is called 
Edward Everett Square, in recognition of this landmark. From 



ROXBURY, DORCHESTER, SOUTH BOSTON, 395 

this point starts Massachusetts Avenue, the great thoroughfare 
across the South End and the Back Bay district of Boston, 
through Cambridge, Arlington, and Lexington, finishing at Lex- 
ington Green. 

The Everett house is the old mansion on the comer of Boston 
Street and Dorehesterwaj', now hedged in hy modern structures, 
an apartment house covering the garden which once was the pride 
of the place. Although bereft of its former grandeur it retains a 
certain dignity, like a worn gentleman of the old school, which 
distinguishes itself from its fellows. It was nearly half a century 
old when it became the Everett house, and then had an interest- 
ing history. Built in 1745 by an opulent planter from Antigua, 
Colonel Robert Oliver, it passed upon his death, in 1762, to his 









k'^^-r 



\.-A^ 











Birthplace of Edward Everett. 

son Thomas Oliver, the last lieutenant-governor of the Province, 
who later built the Lowell mansion-house in Cambridge [see Walk 
No. 30], Subsequently it came into the possession of a Lechmere, 
then of a Vassall, and with the Revolution was confiscated as tory 
property. It was purchased by the Rev. (afterward Judge) Oliver 
Everett (brother of the Dorchester minister, Moses Everett), in 
1792, and Edward Everett, his second son, was born here two 
years after. Upon the death of Judge Everett, in 1802, the family 
moved back to Boston, but this estate remained Everett property 
until 1833. 

Before this house passed to Thomas Oliver he lived in the mansion-house 
still standing be5-oud Mt. Bowdoin, on Washington, corner of Park Street, 
known in later times as the Walter Baker house (celebrated for the fine 
lawn fronting it) having been the home of the late Walter Baker, founder 
of the Walter Ba^er Chocolate Company, for many years until his death, 



396 ROXBURY, DORCHESTER, SOUTH BOSTON. 

and of his widow, who long survived him. The Olivers, the Vassalls, and 
the Lechmeres of Cambridge, and the Royalls of Medford, were allied by 
marriage. 

There are other old houses of various dates in this neighborhood. 
On Willow Court, which opens from Boston Street below the Cor- 
ners, a dilapidated way now and shorn of the trees which gave it 
its name, is the Ebenezer Clapp house, with remnants of the Roger 
Clap house, of the early settlement, in its frame. This house, of 
two stories, with central front porch, broad side porch, and gam- 
brel roof, was built in 1750, and ranked with the substantial man- 
sions of that day. 

Off East Cottage Street, close by Edward Everett Square, is the 
Blake house, the older portion of which dates from before 1650. 
This was the dwelling of Elder James Blake, long ruling elder of 
the church, and prominent in other ways in town affairs. It is a 
well-preserved specimen of the farm-house of its period. 




The old Blake House. 



J 



We turn from Five Corners into Dorchesterway and cross to 
Dorchester Avenue, where we take electric car to South Boston 
(car marked Field's Corner and South Boston, Dorchester Street). 
At the right of tlie curve of Dorchesterway is Richardson's Park, 
at the west end of the oval plot between Pond and Cottage streets, 
where stood the first and second meeting-houses (1631-46, 1646-78), 
and the first schoolhouse, in which Dorchester maintains the first 



ROXBURY, DORCHESTER, SOUTH BOSTON. 397 

free school in America was established, contesting the claim o£ 
Dedham to this distinction. 

Dorchesterway, — to Old Harbor shore — and the Strandway, 
two miles along shore, when completed, will furnish a ''boulevard " 
connection with the Marine Park at South Boston Point ; but until 
that time the passage over from Dorchester must be made by the 
main streets through a cheerless quarter. Happily the car ride is 
not a long one. At the junction of Dorchester Street and Broad- 
way, we transfer to a City Point car and reach the park in a short 
run over the pleasantest part of this district. We pass in neigh- 
borhood of the remaining piece of historic Dorchester Heights 
within Thomas Park, the site of Washington's batteries on the 
crest of the hill being marked by a tablet. 

The Marine Park offers a variety of unique attractions. We 
may wander over the water-front paths ; promenade the long iron 
pier stretching out into the harbor and finishing at an artificial 
island ; cross by the bridge or the ferry to Castle Island and 
loiter under the trees beside Fort Independence, enjoying the ex- 
pansive maritime views about us. Or we may row or sail on 
Pleasure Bay, nearly land-locked between the iron pier on the 
southwest. Castle Island on the east, and the horseshoe curve 
of the shore. Or we may take a harbor excursion trip, or a fish- 
ing trip farther out. The Park Boat Service is excellent, and 
the "fleet" embraces row-boats, canoes, sail-boats, and steam 
launches. We shall see many dainty yachts off shore, may look 
about the yacht club-houses near by, and see where famous racers 
are built. We may lunch in the cafds of the picturesque head- 
house at the entrance to the pier, fashioned after a mediaeval 
municipal council-house of a German city, with its exterior panels 
of decorative designs in "sgraffito," depicting the story of Boston 
Bay. Then, after a final study at close range of Kitson's fine 
bronze statue of Farragut, opposite the end of Broadway, and 
facing the sea, our walk finished, we return to Bgston proper by 
electric car through Broadway, the central thoroughfare of the 
district. 



INDEX. 



Aberjona River, 48, 55, 116, 118, 119. 
120, 121, 124, 125, 139. 

Aberjona Valley, 125, 134, 141. 

Abbotswood, Franklin Park, Boston 
parks system, 389. 

Academy Hill, MUton. 318. 

Academy HUl, Woburu, 142. 

Adams Academy. Quiucy, 375. 

Adams, Abigail, tomb of, Qiiincy, 371 ; 
374, 375. 

Adams, Catherine Louisa, tomb of, 
Quincy, 371. 

Adams, Charles Francis (the late), at 
Harvard College, 242 ; house of, 
Quincy, 376. 

Adams, Elizabeth C, house of, Quincy, 
374. 

Adams, Henry, tomb of, Quiucy, 372. 

Adams homesteads, Quincy, 374. 

Adams, Isaac Hull, house of, Quincv, 
374. 

Adams, John, 1st, tomb of, Quincy, 
372. 

Adams, John, statue of, Mt. Auburn, 
259 ; 369, 370, 371 ; tomb of, Quincy, 
371 ; birthplace of, 374 ; 375 ; man- 
sion-house of, 376 ; 378. 

Adams, John Quincy, 369, 370, 371 ; 
tomb of, Quiucy, 371 ; 372, 373 ; 
birthplace of, 374' ; 375. 

Adams, Joseph, tomb of, Quincy, 372. 

Adams, Luther, place, Brighton, 263. 

Adams Xervine Asylum, West Box- 
bury, 303. 

Adams Street, Milton, 318, 319, 320, 
325, 332. 

Adams Street, Quinc}-, 375, 376, 377. 

Agassiz house, Cambridge. 234. 

Agassiz, Louis, grave of, Mt. Auburn, 
259. 

Alcott, A. Bronson, first house of, 
Concord, 1S3 ; Orchard house, 185 ; 
grave of, 200 ; 202. 

Alcott, Louisa M., 185 ; grave of. Con- 
cord, 200. 

Alcott, May, 185 ; grave of, Concord, 
200. 

Alewife Brook, ^6, 116. 



Alliu Evangelical Church, Dedham, 
362. 

AUiu, John, first minister of Dedham, 
grave of, 362. 

Ames (Fisher), house, Dedham, 359. 

Ames (Dr. Nathaniel), house, Dedham, 
359. 

Ames Corner, Wobum, 119, 139. 

Amphitheatre. The Norse, Water- 
town, 209, 210, 211, 230. 

Ancient Wharf, Mystic Biver, 84. 

Appalachian Mountain Club, Obser- 
vatory, Middlesex Fells, 58. 

Appleton Chapel, Harvard University, 
235. 237, 244. 

Appleton"s Pulpit, Saugus, 32, 45, 46. 

Arborway. See Parkwajs. 

Arch Bridge, over old canal bed, West 
Medford, 104. 

Ark Tavern, site of, Wobum, 140. 

Arlington, 66. 79, 91 ; sketch of, 106 ; 
114, 119, 121. 

Arhugton Boat Club house, 112. 

Arlington House, Arlington. See 
Cooper's Tavern. 

Arlington Heights, 106. 113, 114, 148, 
165. 

Arlmgton, old burying-ground. See 
Burying-gro unds. 

Arlington Reservoir, 147. 

Arlington station, 106. 

Arnold Arbor etmn, Boston parks sys- 
tem, 292, 297, 300, 301 ; sketch of, 
303 ; 304, 305, 311, 312, 389. 

Arsenal. United States, Watertown, 
209, 214, 215, 258. 

Ashcroft (Dediiam), 357. 

Ashmont (Dorchester), 383, 391. 

Aspinwall Hill, Brookline, 277, 281. 

AspinwaU House, Brookline, 282. 

Assabet River, 199. 

Athertou, General Humphrey, tomb 
of, Dorchester. 393. 

Atkins estates, Belmont, 224, 225. 

Atkinson, Edward, house of, Brook- 
Ime, 284. 

Atlantic (Qumcy), 369, 379. 

Aubumdale (Newton), 262. 



400 



INDEX. 



Austin Hall (Law School), Harvard 

University, 237, 247. 
Avery homestead, Dedham, 366. 
Avery Oak, Dedham, 357, 365. 

Babel Rock, Blue Hills, 333, 351. 

Babylon Hill, Woburn, 135. 

Back Bay Fens, Boston parks system, 

99, 279, 300. 
Bacon estate. Mystic (Winchester), 

118, 121. 
Bacon homestead, Bedford, 178, 179. 
Bailey, the Rev. Thomas, early min- 
ister of Watertown, tomb of, 211, 

212. 
Baker house, Westwood, 368. 
Baker, Walter, Chocolate Company 

factories, Milton, 320, 395. 
Baker's Bridge station, Lincoln, 208. 
Baker's Farm, Lincoln, 208. 
Bald Pate, Newton, 262, 297, 298. 
Baldwin, Colonel Loammi, Woburn, 

68, 120, 142 ; sketch of, 133. 
Baldwin, Colonel Loammi, jr., Wo- 
burn, 23, 68, 120 ; sketch of, 133. 
Baldwin mansion-house, Woburn. 119, 

131 ; the Baldwin library, 132. 
Ballou Hall, Tufts College, 80. 
Balster Brook, Blue Hills, 332, 333, 

346. 
Bancroft, George, at Harvard College, 

240, 242. 
Baptist Theological School, Newton 

Centre, 266. 
Barberry Bush Spring, Blue Hills, 

333, 354, 355, 356. 
Barrett, Colonel James, Concord, 

grave of, 190 ; 197 ; house of, 198. 
Barrett, Captain Nathan, Concord, 

172, 197 ; house of, 203. 
Bartlett, George B., Concord, 184, 

193, 194, 199, 200. 
Bartlett, General William F., home 

of, Winthrop, 14. 
Bartlett Park, Winthrop, 8, 13. 
Barnum Museum, Tufts College, 80. 
Basswood Shore, Middlesex Fells, 

56. 
Batchelder house, Cambridge, 254. 
Batherick's, Mother, exploit in Me- 

notomy (Arlington), April 19, 1775, 

108. 
Battle bridge. Concord. See Old 

North Bridge. 
Battle ground, Concord, 192, 194, 197, 

202. 
Battle lawn, Concord, 197, 198. 
Battle monument, Concord, 194, 195, 

196, 197. 
Baxter, Sylvester, 35, 47, 314, 388. 
Beachmont, 7, 14, 15, 18, 26. 
Beacon boulevard, 271, 296. 
Beale house, Quincy, 376. 



Bearberry Hill, Stony Brook Woods, 

313. 
Beard estate, the old, Lexington, 165. 
Bear Hill, Middlesex Fells, 47, 57, 58. 
Bear Hill, Waltham, 263, 273. 
Beaton house. Concord, 188. 
Beaver Brook, 1 , 209, 220. 
Beaver Brook Reservation, 209 ; . 

sketch of, 220. 
Beck Hall, Cambridge, 234. 
Bedford, 170 ; sketch of, 171 ; 172, 

173. 
Bedford Historical Society, Bedford, 

175. 
Bedford, old burying - ground. See 

Burying-grounds. 
Bedford Road, Bedford, 146, 168, 170, 

172, 178, 181. 
Bedford Springs, Bedford, 178. 
Belcher, the Rev., third minister of 

Dedham, site of house of, 362 ; 

grave of, 362. 
Belcher Brook, Blue Hills, 333. 
Belcher Milestone, Milton, 324. 
Belcher, Governor Jonathan, tomb of, 

249 ; 253, 324, 325 ; site of Belcher 

place, Milton, 325, 326. 
Belfry, the old, Lexington, 154, 155. 
Belknap, the Rev. Jeremy, at Harvard 

College, 240. 
Bell Rock station. Maiden, 36, 
Belle Isle Inlet, 8, 14, 18, 29. 
Belle Isle station, 26. 
Belle Isle, Winthrop. 26. 
Belmont, 209 ; sketch of, 210 ; 223 ; 

Park 227. 
Belmont^Hi'u, Everett, 32, 35. 
Belmont Square, East Boston, 22. 
Bellevue Hill, West Roxbury, 300, 

306, 311, 312, 313. 
Bellingham, Governor Richard, lands 

of, in Rumney Marsh (Chelsea), 19. 
Bernard, Governor Sir Francis, 239. 
Big Oak, Milton, 329. 
Bigelow, George T., at Harvard Col- 
lege, 242. 
Bigelov/ (Timothy) mansion - house, 

site of, Medford, 91. 
Bigelow Hill, Brighton, 262, 263, 266. 
Bird Street station, Dorchester, 389. 
Bird Tavern, formerly Richardson's, 

Watertown, 230. 
Bishop (John) house, Medford, 101. 
Black Horse Tavern, site of, Win- 
chester, 123. 
Black Horse Tavern, or Wetherby's, 

site of, Arlington, 107. 
Blackleach, John, an early owner of 

Winnisimmet (Chelsea), 19, 31. 
Blackman house, Watertown, site of, 

216. 
Black Rock, Middlesex Fells, 47, 48, 

49. 



INDEX. 



401 



Blake estate, Brookline, 281, 282, 283. 
Blake (Francis) estate, " Keeway- 

din," Weston, 269. 
Blake, El(.;er James, tomb of, Dor- 
chester, 394 ; house of, 396. 
Blessing of the Baj', The ship, 84, 86. 
Blueberry Swamp, Blue Hills, 333, 

354. 
Blue Hills Reservation, 333-356; 

sketch of, 333. 
Bluff, The, Concord, 172. 
Boardmau Farm, Saugus, 44. 
Boojum Rock, Middlesex Fells, 47, 

61, 62. 
Booth, Edwin, grave of, Mt. Auburn, 

259. 
Boston Athletic Association, grounds 

of, Riverside (Newton), 269. 
Boston Basin, 1 ; map of, 2 ; 27, 333. 
Boston Canoe Club, Riverside (New- 
ton), 269. 
Boston Rock, Wyoming (Melrose), 32, 

41, 42. 
Boston Stone, Boston, 20, 21. 
Boston Water Works Tower, Bellevue 

Hill, 312. 
Botanic Garden, Cambridge, 252. 
Boulevard, Newton Central. See New- 
ton Central Boulevard. 
Bouncing Brook, Blue Hills, 333, 356. 
Boundary Road, Middlesex Fells, 61, 

62. 
Bowditch (Nathaniel I.) estate, Brook- 
line, 286. 
Bowditch, Dr. Nathaniel, statue of, 

Mt. Auburn, 258. 
Bowman, the Rev. Jonathan, early 

minister of Dorchester, 162 ; tomb 

of, 393. 
Bowman place, Newton, 264. 
Box Gully, Blue Hills, 333, 356. 
Boyce Hill, Blue Hills, 333, 340, 349, 

350. 
Boylston Hall, Harvard University, 

237, 243. 
Boylston, Jerusha, wife of Dr. Zab- 

diel, grave of, BrookUne, 285. 
Boylston, Dr. Zabdiel, grave of, 

Brookline, 285 ; house of, 284 ; 243, 

295, 296. 
Braekett, Alice, wife of Richard, 

early settler, tomb of, Quincy, 372. 
Braekett homestead, Quincy, 373. 
Braekett, Richard, tomb of, Quincy, 

372. 
Braekett (Samuel) house of, Quincy, 

375. 
Brackett's, Richard, Lauding, Quincy, 

374. 
Bradlee (Nathaniel J.) house, Rox- 

bury, 386. 
Bradstreet, Samuel, site of house of, 

Cambridge, 2§6. 



Braintree Great Pond, 333, 356. 

Braintree Pass, Blue Hills, 333, 334. 

Braintree station, 356. 

Brasier Inn. See Hancock Tavern. 

Brattle Street, Cambridge, 231. 

Brattle (General William) house of, 
Cambridge, 253. 

Breakneck Ledge, Blue Hills, 333, 
347, 353. 

Breck place, Brighton, 264. 

Breed family. Breed's Island, 18. 

Breed Farm, Breed's Island, site of, 
25. 

Breed's Hill, Charlestown, 69, 71, 75. 

Breed's Hill (Orient Heights), 8, 24. 

Breed's Island. Ste Orient Heights. 

Brewster's, William, Woods, Concord, 
204. 

Bride's Tavern, site of, Dedham, 358. 

Bridge, John, statue of, Cambridge, 
248. 

Brighton, 262, 263. 

Broken Hills, The, Blue Hills, 333, 
353. 

Bromfie Id-Pearson School, Tufts Col- 
lege, 80. 

Brook Farm, West Roxbury, 297, 300, 
305, 307, 308, 309, 310; sketch of 
the community of 1841-47, 309. 

Brooks, Charles T., at Harvard Col- 
lege, 242. 

Brooks estate, West Medford, 82, 102, 
104, 105. 

Brooks, Governor John, Medford, 82, 
91 ; site of house of, 92 ; grave and 
monument of, 95 ; % ; birthplace 
of, 122 ; 182. 

Brooks (John H.) house, Milton, 325. 

Brooks (Jonathan) house, Medford, 
102. 

Brooks, Peter C, Medford, 102, 103, 
110. 

Brooks, Phillips, at Harvard College, 
240, 242 ; grave of, 259. 

Brookline, 277-299 ; sketch of, 277. 

Brookline Woods, 277. 

Brother Rocks, Bedford, 170, 176, 177, 
178. 

Brown (Captain Reuben) house. Con- 
cord, 188. 

Brush Hill, Milton, 318. 

Buck Hill, Blue Hills, 333, 349, 350. _ 

Buckman Tavern, Lexington, 155, 
156. 

Bugbee, old, cellar, Blue Hills, 349. 

Bulkeley, the Rev. Peter, site of 
house of. Concord, 191 ; 193. 

Bull estate. Concord, 183. 

Bunker, George (Bunker Hill, Charles- 
town, named for), lands of, in Wo- 
burn, 139. 

Bunker Hill Lane, Blue Hills, 350, 
351. 



402 



INDEX. 



Bunker Hill Monument, Charlestown, 
66, 69, 70. 

Bunker Hill Quarry, Blue Hills, 333 ; 
sketch of, 351. 

Burbauk's Pond, Woburn, 125, 141. 

Burgess (Mrs. Ellen D.) estate, Ded- 
ham, 363. 

Burke's Quarry, Blue Hills, 351. 

Burliugame, Anson, tomb of, Mt. Au- 
burn, 259. 

Burnt or Tucker-Bugbee Hill, Blue 
Hills, 333, 340, 349. 

Burying-grounds, old, Bedford, 180 ; 
Brookline 277, 284, 285; Cam- 
bridge, 248 ; Charlestown (Phipps 
Street), 66, 72, 73 ; Concord (Hill- 
side), 189 ; Dedham, 361 ; Dor- 
chester (Upham's Corner), 383, 
393 ; Lexington, 160, 101 ; Maiden 
(Bell Rock), 30 ; Milton, 318, 329 ; 
Newton (Centre Street), 264; 
Qulncy (the Hancock), 369, 370, 
371 ; Roxbury (Eustis Street), 383, 
384 ; Watertown (Mount Auburn 
Street), 209-211, 230; West Rox- 
bury (Walter Street), 305 ; Woburn, 
142. 

Bussey estate, West Roxbury, 303, 
305. 

Bussey Hill, Arnold Arboretum, Bos- 
ton parks system, 303. 

Bussey Institution, Harvard Univer- 
sity, 303. 

Bussey Woods, Arnold Arboretum, 
Boston parks system, 303. 

Buttrick family, Concord, tombs of, 
190. 

Buttrick, Colonel John, grave of. 
Concord, 190, 195; house of, 197, 
199. 

Buttrick, Deacon Jonathan, grave of. 
Concord, 190. 

Buttrick's New Pasture, Concord, 
207. 

Byles, Mather, at Harvard College, 
240. 

Cabot (J. Eliot) estate, Brookline, 

294. 
Cabot (Lewis) estate, Brookline, 

287. 
Cairn Hill, Middlesex Fells, 47, 50. 
Cambridge, 231-261 ; sketch of, 231. 
Cambridge Cemetery, 258. 
Cambridge Common, 247. 
Cambridge Golf Club, Watertown, 

213. 
Cambridge, old burying ground. See 

Burying-grounds. 
Camp Hill, East Boston, 18, 22. 
Cannon Rock, Lexington, 150, 152. 
Capen, Barnard, grave of, Dorchester, 

393 ; house of, 393. 



Capen's, Hopestill, old shop {see Rum- 
ford, Count), 20, 130. 

Carey Athletic Building, (Jambridge, 
246. 

Carter, the Rev. Thomas, iirst minis- 
ter of Woburn, house of, 142. 

Cary or old Hunt's farm, Reserva- 
tion Headquarters, Blue Hills, 336, 
343. 

Cary Library, in Town House, Lexing- 
ton, 164. 

Cascade, The, Middlesex Fells, 47, 48, 
49. 

Cascade Rocks, Middlesex Fells, 48, 
49. 

Castle and Castle Island, Boston Har- 
bor, 7, 79, 397. 

Castle Market, Watertown, 214. 

Castle Rock, Saugus, 44. 

Cattle Market, Watertown, 214. 

Causeway, The, Middlesex Fells, 47, 
56. 

Cedar Spring, Middlesex Fells, 60. 

Cedar Swamp, Blue Hills, 333, 353, 
356. 

Central Hill, Somerville, 66, 67, 75, 
76. 

Central Square, East Boston, 21. 

Central Square, Somerville, 75. 

Central station, West Roxbury, 277, 
297 312. 

Chamberlin, E. G., 274, 275, 337, 338. 

Change Alley, Boston, 19. 

Channing, Ellery, house of. Concord, 
203, 204. 

Channing Hospital, Brookline, 295. 

Channing, William Ellery, grave of, 
Mt. Auburn, 259. 

Charles River, 1, 5, 215, 200, 207, 268, 
209, 270, 357, 364. 

Charlestown, 66-81 ; sketch of, 00, 67. 

Charlestown Heights, 66, 74. 

Charlestown Neck, 33, m, 74, 82. 

Charlestown, old burying-ground. See 
Burying-grovmds. 

Chauncy, Charles, grave of, Cam- 
bridge, 249. 

Cheese Rock, Middlesex Fells, 47, 56, 
59. 

Cheever, the Rev. Samuel, first min- 
ister of Chelsea, house of, 27. 

Cheever house, Cliftondale (Saugus), 
39. 

Chelsea, 18-31 ; sketch of, 18, 19. 

Chelsea Creek, 25. 

Chelsea Street, Everett, 35. 

Chemical Building, Tufts College, 80. 

Cherry Tree Tavern, Quincy, site of, 
377. 

Cliestnut Hill, Newton, 262. 

Chestnut Hill station, 299. 

Chestnut Run, Blue Hills, 333, 347. 

Chestnut Woods, Blue Hills, 355. 



INDEX. 



403 



Chickatawbut Hill, Blue Hills, 333, 

353, 354. 
Child, Lydia Maria, school place of, 

Medford, 96. 
Choate, Rufus, tomb of, Mt. Auburn, 

259. 
Christ Church, Boston, 21. 
Christ Church, Cambridge, 248, 249, 

250. 
Churchill (Asaph) estate, Milton, 323, 

324. 
Churchill's Lane, Milton, 323, 324. 
Circuit Drive, Franklin Park, Boston 

parks system, 388, 389. 
City Hall, Cambridge, 231, 232. 
City Hall, Somerville, 70. 
City Square, Charlestown, G7. 
Clap (Roger) house, Dorchester, 396. 
Clapboard Trees Church, Westwood, 

3G8. 
Clapp (Ebenezer) house, Dorchester, 

396. 
Clarendon Hill, Somerville, 67. 
Clarendon Hills, West Roxbury, 311, 

313. 
Clarendon Hills station, West Rox- 
bury, 300, 311, 313. 
Clark, Alvan & Sons, shop of, Cam- 
bridge, 232. 
Clark (D. O.) estate, Milton, 326. 
Clark (Deacon Joshua C.) house, 

Brookline, 286. 
Clark, Peter, homestead of, Belmont, 

227, 
Clarke, the Rev. Jonas. See Hancock- 
Clarke house. 
Clarke Elm, Lexington, 161. 
Clarke estate, Belmont, 224. 
Clayton, H. H., 338. 
Clematis Brook, Waverley, 222, 223. 
Cleveland, Aaron, jr., 129 ; grave of, 

Woburn, 142. 
Cleveland, ex - President, Grover, 

grave of ancestor of, Woburn, 142. 
Cliftondale (Saugus), 32, 39, 45. 
Cliftondale station, 39, 45, 46. 
Clyde Park, BrookUne, 277, 278, 287, 

294. 
Coddington, William, land of, Mt. 

Wollaston (Quincy), 369 ; home lot 

of, 377. 
Codman, Dr. John, Dorchester, 391. 
Colburn house, Westwood, 368. 
Colburn (Judge Waldo) house, Ded- 

ham, 359. 
College Hill, Tufts College, 79, 87. 
College Hill Reservoir, 80. 
College Hill station. Tufts College, 81. 
College Yard, Harvard University, 

231, 236, 249. 
Colonial Club House, Cambridge, 234. 
Commercial Point, Dorchester, 383, 

391. 



Commons Building, Tufts College, 

80. 
Conant Hall, Cambridge, 246. 
Conantum, Concord, 207. 
Concord, 170-196 ; sketch of, 170, 171 ; 

208. 
Concord Antiquarian Society, historic 

house occupied by, 188. 
Concord Hill, Concord, 171. 
Concord, old burying - ground. See 

Buryiug-grounds. 
Concord or Pratt nurseries. Concord, 

202. 
Concord River, 170, 176, 199. 
Concord Road, old and new, 172, 181, 

219. 
Concord turnpike, 147, 185, 209, 223. 
Congregational Church (Second), Dor- 
chester, 391. 
Connecticut Corner, Dedham, 357. 
Constitution, The frigate, " Old Iron- 
sides," 0,8, 365, 366. 
Convalescent Home of the Mass. Gen. 

Hospital, Waverley, 219. 
Converse Memorial (Public Library 

Building), Maiden, 32, 36. 
Cook's Pond Dam, Newton, 217. 
Coolidge Monument, old graveyard, 

Watertown, 212. 
Coolidge Tavern, Watertown, 209, 

214, 217, 218. 
Coon Hollow Brook, Blue Hills, 333. 
Cooper's Tavern (now Arlington 

House), 106, 107, 108, 110. 
Copeland's Corner, Revere, 35. 
Copeland's Pasture, Blue Hills, 353. 
Corbett Hill, Everett, 32. 
Corey Hill, Brookline, 277, 296. 
Corn Court, Boston, 19. 
Cotton, the Rev. John, 282, 285, 369. 
Country Club House, Brookline, 277, 

278, 287, 294. 
Country Park, Franklin Park, Boston 

parks system, 388, 389. ^ 
Couit House, Dedham, 360. 
Court House, East Cambridge, 83, 

231. 
Cow Island, West Roxbury, 300, 310. 
Cradock Bridge, Medford, 91, 94. 
Cradock House, Medford, 92, 96, 97. 
Crafts (Ebenezer) house, Brookline, 

279. 
Cragfoot Spring, Blue Hills, 333, 352. 
Crags, The, Blue Hills, 333. 
Cranberry Pool, Middlesex Fells, 55. 
Crane Memorial Hall and Library, 

Quincy, 373. 
Creek Lane, Boston, 20. 
Crescent Beach, 7, 15. 
Crescent Beach station, 15, 16. 
Crest, The, Revere Beach, 16. 
Crest, The, Winthrop Beach, 12. 
Crosby, Professor William 0., 250. 



404 



INDEX, 



Cross Street station, Woburn, 119, 125, 

126. 
Grossman homestead, Milton, 332. 
Grossman's Lane, Milton, 332. 
Grossman's Pines, Blue Hills, 333, 346, 

347. 
Crystal Bay, Winthrop, 8, 12, 13. 
Crystal Lake, Newton Centre, 266. 
Cudjo's Cave, Middlesex Fells, 51. 
Cummiugs homesteads, Woburn, 135. 
Cummiugsville (Woburn), 119, 120, 

134, 135. 
Cunard Wharf, East Boston, 21. 
Cunuins;ham (Edward) estate, Milton, 

326, 327. 
Cunningham (Edward) house, Milton, 

321. 
Gushing, Caleb, at Harvard College, 

242. 
Gushing-Payson estate, Belmont, 210, 

228, 229. 
Gushman, Charlotte, grave of, Mt. 

Auburn, 259. 
Cutter, W. R., Librarian of Woburn 

Pubhc Library, 138. 

Dalton, Edward Barry, monument to. 
Soldiers Field, Brighton, 261. 

Dana (Francis) mansion-house, Cam- 
bridge, 234. 

Dana Tavern, site of, Brookline, 
280. 

Dane Hall, Harvard University, 237. 

Dark Hollow Brook, Blue Hills, 333, 
349. 

Darmody house, Woburn, 135. 

Davenport, the Rev. John, tomb of, 
Dorchester, 393. 

Davis, Andrew McFarland, 238, 252. 

Davis, Captain Isaac, of Acton, 194, 
195. 

Davis Square, West Somerville, 66, 75, 
79, 81. 

Daj'e, Stephen, grave of, Cambridge, 
248 

Dean Hall, Tufts College, 80. 

Dedham, 357-368 ; sketch of, 357. 

Dedham Boat Club, house of, 364. 

Dedham Historical Society, building 
of, 358. 

Dedham Tavern, site of, Dedham, 
358. 

Dedham, tombs of first ministers, 
362. 

Devil's Oven, or Oven's Mouth, West- 
wood, 368. 

Dexter mansion - house, Dedham, 
362. 

Diaz, Abby Morton, house of, Bel- 
mont, 226. 

Dike's Brook, Middlesex Fells, 57. 

Dillaway house, Roxbiiry, 386. 

Dimmock, W. R., Quincy, 375. 



Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, 231, 

245. 
Divinity School, Tufts College, 80. 
Divinity School Buildings, Harvard 

University, 245. 
Dodge (Theodore) house, Brookline, 

297. 
Doe Hollow, Blue Hills, 333. 
Doleful Pond, Melrose, 47, 59, 60. 
Doliber (Thomas) estate, Brookline, 

294. 
Dorchester, 383-394 ; sketch of, 383. 
Dorchester Burying - ground. See 

Bury ing-grounds . 
Dorchester Square, or Common, 390. 
Dorchester, tombs of first ministers, 

393. 
Dorchesterway. See Parkways. 
Doublet Hill, Weston, 262, 263, 269, 

272. 
Dudley family, tomb of, Roxbury, 383, 

384. 
Dudley Farm, Bedford, 176, 177, 178. 
Dudley, Governor Joseph, tomb of, 

Roxbury, 384. 
Dudley, Chief Justice Paul, tomb of, 

Roxbury, 384, 386. 
Dudley, Paul, Parting stone, Rox- 
bury, 386. 
Dudley Road, Bedford, 176, 177, 178. 
Dudley Street station, Dorchester, 

390. 
Dudley, Governor Thomas, 177, 178 ; 

site of house of, Cambridge, 236 ; 

tomb of, Roxbury, 384 ; site of house 

of, Roxbury, 385. 
Dudley, Colonel William, tomb of, 

Roxbury, 384. 
Dunbar house, Roxbury, 386. 
Dunster, Henry, site of house of, 

Cambridge, 236, 238 ; grave of, 

249. 

Eagle Hill, East Boston, 18, 21, 25. 
Eagle Rock, Blue Hills, 353. 
East Boston, 18-31 ; sketch of, 18. 
East Cambridge (Cambridge), 83, 231, 

233. 
East Dedham (Dedham), 357. 
East Hall, Tufts College, 80. 
East Medford (Medford), 82, 98. 
East Lexington (Lexington), 146. 
East Lexington station, 147. 
East Milton (Milton), 318. 
East Somerville (Somerville), 67. 
East Watertown (Watertovvn), 212. 
East Watertown station, 212. 
Eaton Square, Dorchester, 389, 390, 

391. 
Echo Bridge, Newton, 262, 266, 267. 
Edgeworth (Maiden), 32. 
Egg Rock, Concord, 199. 
Elbow Hill, Watertown, 219. 



INDEX. 



405 



Eliot. Charles, 3, 4, 5, 270. 

Eliot; Charles W., 1,237. 

Eliot, the Rev. John, 238, 248, 252; 
monument, Newton, 262, 264 ; 288, 
306 ; pulpit of, Roxbury, 308 ; tomb 
of, 383 ; site of house, 385 ; 386. 

Eliot (Newton), 202. 

Eliot Square, Roxbury, 386. 

EUery, William, at Harvard College, 
240. 

EUicottdale, Franklin Park, Boston 
parks system, 388. 

Ellis station, Dedham, 367. 

Elm Corner, early home of Mrs. A. 
D. T. Whitney, MUton, 329. 

Elmwood Avenue, Cambridge, 256. 

Elmwood (Dedham), 357. 

Elmwood (the home of Lowell), Cam- 
bridge, 256, 257. 

Emerson, Ralph Waldo, in Lexington, 
148 ; 170, 182 ; house of, in Concord, 
185-187, 192; study in the Old 
Manse, 194 ; 196 ; grave of, 201 ; at 
Harvard College, 242 ; at Brook 
Farm, 310 ; 388. 

Emerson, William, tomb of, Concord, 
190; 193. 

Emerson Woods, Concord, 207. 

Endicott (Dedham), 357, 366. 

English HiUs (Mt. Pleasant), Woburn, 
119, 120, 135. 

Episcopal Church, Medford, 91. 

Episcopal Theological School (St. 
John's), Cambridge, 253. 

Erikson, Leif, site of house of, Cam- 
bridge, 259. 

Esterbrook farmstead, Concord, 206. 

Esterbrook Road, Concord, 197. 

Esterbrook Woods, Concord, 197, 202, 
206. 

Eustis (Jacob) house, Saugus, 46. 

Eustis, Governor William, tomb of, 
Lexington, 160 ; site of house of, 
Roxbury, 385. 

Eustis Street Burying-ground, Rox- 
bury. See Burying-grounds. 

Everett, 32-35 ; sketch of, 32. 

Everett, Alexander H., at Harvard 
College, 242. 

Everett, Edward, home in Charles- 
town, 67 ; 73, 83 : home of, Winter 
Hill, 87 ; estate of, Winchester, 128 ; 
at Harvard College, 242 ; homes in 
Cambridge, 251, 254; grave of, at 
Mt. Auburn, 259 ; birthplace of, 
Dorchester, 394, 395. 

Everett, Edward, Square, Dorchester, 
394, 395, 390. 

Everett Hill, Dedham, 357. 

Everett, the Rev. Moses, tomb of, 
Dorchester, 393 ; 395. 

Everett, Judge Oliver, house of, Dor- 
chester, 395. ^ 



Everett, Dr. William, house of, iu 

Quinc}', 374 ; 375. 
Eye-glass Pond, Quincy, 377. 

Fairbanks house, Dedham, 357, 364, 
305, 366. 

Fairhaven Bay, Concoi'd, 208. 

Fairhaven Hill, Concord, 208. 

Fairmont, Brookline, 277. 

Fairmont Water Tower, Hyde Park, 
332. 

Faneuil (Brighton), 262, 263. 

Faneuil Hall, Boston, 19, 20, 83. 

Farlow (John S.) place, Newton, 
264. 

Farragut, David G., statue of, 397. 

Farrington Elm, Dedham, 366. 

Fay House, RadclifEe College, 250, 251, 
252. 

Fayerweather house, Cambridge, 256. 

Federal Hill, Dedliam, 357. 

Fells. See Middlesex Fells. 

Fells parkways, 48. 

Fellsmere Park, Maiden, 61. 

FeUsway East. See Parkways, 

Fellsway West. See Parkways. 

Fenno's Corner, Chelsea, 27. 

Field's Corner, Dorchester, 383. 

Fields, James T., grave of, Mt. Au- 
burn. 259. 

"Fight on Noddle's Island," 1775, 
18, 22 ; scene of, 25. 

First (Congregational) Church, 
CharlestowTi, 67. 

First Parish (Unitarian) Church, Cam- 
bridge, 248, 249. 

First Parish (Unitarian) Church, Dor- 
chester, 391. 

First Parish (Unitarian) Church, Lex- 
ington, 156, 160. 

First Parish (Unitarian) Church, Med- 
ford, 91. 

First Parish (Unitarian) Church, Rox- 
bury, 386. 

First Unitarian Church, Brookline, 
284. 

Fisher Hill, Brookline, 277, 290, 296. 

Fiske Hill, Concord, 172. 

Fiske house, Lexington, 146, 167. 

Fitch's Tavern, Bedford (rendezvous 
of minute-men of 1775), 170, 173. 

Five Corners, Dorchester, 383, 394, 
396. 

Five Corners Divide, Blue Hills, 333, 
341, 346, 347. 

Five - Mile Woods (now Middlesex 
Fells), 47. 

Flagg's Walk, Middlesex Fells, 51, 
53, 54. 

Flint, the Rev. Josiah, tomb of, Dor- 
chester, 393. 

Fogg Museum of Art, Harvard Uni- 
versity, 237, 244. 



406 



INDEX. 



FoUen Church, Unitarian, Lexington, 
148. 

Forbes, John Malcom, house of, Mil- 
ton, 323. 

Forbes, J. Murray, house of, Milton, 
323. 

Forbes (Captain Robert B.) house, 
Milton, 325. 

Forbes Hill (formerly Third Hill), 
Quincy, 377. 

Ford, The, Meclford, 94. 

Forest Hills Cemetery, West Rox- 
bury, 300. 

Forest Hills station, 300. 

Forget-me-not Glen, Woburn, 141. 

Fort Indei^endence, Boston Harbor, 
397. 

Foster homestead, Medford, 97. 

Foster, John, tomb of, Dorchester, 
394. 

Foster's Shipyard, Medford, 97. 

Fountain Tavern, site of, Medford, 
96. 

Fowl Meadows, Dedham, 3C6. 

Fowle mansion-house, site of. Water- 
town, 213, 214. 

Foxcroft House, Cambridge, 245. 

Fox Hill, Blue Hills, 333, 352. 

Fox Hill, Westwood, 357, 307. 

Foye (Provincial treasurer) house, 
site of, Milton, 325. 

Francis house, Medford, 9G. 

Franklin Park, Boston parks system, 
300, 303, 383, 388; sketch of,' 389. 

" French Redoubt," of 1775, lines of, 
Central Hill, Somerville, 76. 

Fresh Pond Park, Cambridge, 225, 
228, 230, 258. 

Fuller (Margaret) monument, Mt. Au- 
burn, 259, 310. 

Furnace Brook, Bhie Hills, 333. 

Furnace Brook, Quincy, 376, 378. 

Gage, Governor Thomas, 74, 78, 79, 

87, 90, 110, 254, 256. 
Gardner (John L.) estate, Brookline, 

286. 
Gardner (W. L.) estate, Brookline, 

294. 
Gardner family, tombs of, Brookline, 

285. 
Garrison house, old, Medford, 93. 
Germantown (Quincy), 369, 373. 
Germantown (West Roxbury), 300. 
Gei'ry, Elbridge, 107 ; at Harvard 

College, 240; mansion-house in 

Cambridge, 257. 
Gile, Mary H., tomb of, Milton, 

327. 
Gile, the Rev. Samuel, tomb of, Mil- 
ton, 327. 
Gilman, the Rev. Samuel, author of 

"Fair Harvard," 240, 251. 



Glen Road and Lane, Franklin Park, 
Boston parks system, 389. 

Glenwood (Medford), 82. 

Glover house, site of. Blue Hills, 354. 

Glover villa, Milton, 325. 

Goddard (Abijah) homestead, Brook- 
line, 294. 

Goddard Avenue, Brookline, 277, 293. 

Goddard Chapel, Tufts College, 80. 

Goddard Gymnasium, Tufts College, 
80. 

Goddard house, Brookline, 287. 

Goddard Heights, Brookline, 277. 

Golf Club, Cambridge, grounds of, 
213. 

Golf Club, Lexington, 150. 

Gooch, Colonel Joseph, Milton, 324. 

Goodwin estate, Lexington, 163. 

Gookin, Major-General Daniel, tomb 
of, Cambridge, 248. 

Gookin, the Rev. Nathaniel, tomb of, 
Cambridge, 248. 

Gore Hall, or Library, Harvard Uni- 
versity, 237, 243. 

Gore (Governor Christopher) mansion- 
house, Waltham, 275. 

Granny's Hill, or Hancock Heights, 
Lexington, 146, 147, 1C3. 

Grampian Way, Savin Hill, Dorches- 
ter, 393. 

Graveyard, Watertown. See Bury- 
ing-grounds. 

Gray, Asa, Spring, Concord, 204. 

Gray's Hall, Harvard University, 237, 
238, 243. 

Gray's Rock, Blue Hills, 333, 341. 

Great Blue Hill, Blue Hills, 321, 333. 

Great Common, or Training - Field, 
Dedham, 363. 

Great Fields, Concord, 170, 181. 

Great Head, Winthrop, 4, 7, 8, 12. 

Great Meadow, Bedford, 178. 

Great Neck, Middlesex Fells, 57. 

Great Plain, Blue Hills, 356. 

Great Road, Bedford, 173. 

Great Road, the old, Winchester. 123. 

Great Tavern, or Russell's, Arlington, 
113. 

Great and Little Dome, Blue Hills, 
333, 351. 

Green, Lexington. See Lexington 
Green. 

Greene, George W., grave of, Milton, 
328. 

Greenough house, Jamaica Plain, 301. 

Greenough place, Quincy, 376. 

Greeting, The, Franklin Park, Bos- 
ton parks system, 388. 

Grove Street, Medford and Winches- 
ter, 102, 103, 106, 116, 119. 

Grover's Cliff, Winthrop, 4, 8, 9, 11, 
12. 

Gun Hill Road, Milton, 326, 328. 



IXDEX. 



4or 



Hagborne Hill, Franklin Park, Boston 
parks system, 388. 

Hallowell estates, Medford, 100. 

Hancock Cemetery, Quincy. See 
Buryiug-gromids. 

Hancock Hill, Blue Hills, 333, 340, 
34-2, 347. 

H.incock Hollow and Pasture, Blue 
Hills, 333, 348. 

Hancock, Governor John, house of, at 
Point Shirley, 12 ; 20 ; at Lexington, 
1G2; statue of, 1G4; 189,291 ; house 
of, in Jamaica Plain, 302 ; 347, 348, 
370, 371 ; site of birthplace of, 
Quincy, 375 ; 378. 

Hancock, the Rev. John, of Lexing- 
ton, grave of, IGO ; house of , 102 ; 
175. 

Hancock, the Rev. John, of Quinc}', 
1G2, 370 ; grave of, 371 ; site of 
house of, 375. 

Hancock-Clarke house, Lexington, 
IGl. 

Hancock Heights. See Granny's Hill. 

Hancock Tavern, Boston, 19. 

Hannah Shiner's Ledge, Middlesex 
Fells, 57. 

Hardy's Hill, Lincoln, 172. 

Harrington (Jonathan) house. East 
Lexington, 148. 

Harrington (Jonathan) house, by Lex- 
ington Green, 157. 

Harris, the Rev. Thaddeus Mason, 
tomb of, Dorchester, 393. 

Harrison, ex- President Benjamin F., 
grave of ancestor of, Woburn, 142. 

Harrison Square (Dorchester), 383. 

Harvard, John, nionument to, in 
Charlestown, 72 ; lands of, in Win- 
chester, 124 ; 239 ; statue of, Cam- 
bridge, 244. 

Harvard Bridge, Cambridge, 231. 

Harvard Church (Congregational), 
Brookline, 281. 

Harvard (Unitarian) Church, Charles- 
town, 72. 

Harvard Class-Day Tree, 238. 

Harvard College. See Harvard Uni- 
versity. 

Harvard or West Gate, College Yard, 
Harvard University, 238, 240, 241. 

Harvard Hall, Harvard University, 
238, 239. 

Harvard Lands, Winchester, 124, 125. 

Harvard Square, Cambridge, 232. 

Harvard Street ( Old Cambridge road), 
Brookline, 280. 

Harvard Street Church, Charlestown, 
67. 

Harvard University, 231; 234-247; 
252. 

Harvard University Athletic Build- 
ing, Cambridge, 261. 



Hastings Hall, Cambridge, 247. 

Hastings house, site of, Cambridge, 
247. 

Hastings's Bluff, West Medford, 82. 

Hastings's Heights, West Medford, 
102. 

Haven Elms, Dedham, 360. 

Haven house, Dedham, 359. 

Hawk Hill, Blue Hills, 333, 354, 355. 

Hawthorne, Nathaniel, home of. The 
Wayside, Concord, 183 ; " Haw- 
thorne's Walk," 184 ; home in the 
Old Manse, 192 ; 194, 199 ; grave of, 
200 ; at Brook Farm, 308. 

Hajes estate, Lexington, 163. 

Haj'vvard house, old Concord road, 
172. 

Hazlewood station (Hyde Park), 311, 
317. 

Heathfield, Franklin Park, Boston 
pai-ks system, 388. 

Hebrew Cemetery, East Boston, 25. 

Hebrew Home of the Aged, Milton, 
331. 

Hemenway Gymnasium, Cambridge, 
247. 

Hemenway Hill, Blue Hills, 333, 347. 

Hemlet HiU, Waltham, 262. 

Hemlock Bound, Blue Hills, 333, 350, 
355, 356. 

Hemlock Gorge Reservation, 262, 266, 
2G7. 

Hemlock Mt. , Arnold Arboretum, Bos- 
ton parks system, 304. 

Hemlock Pool, Middlesex Fells, 47, 
50, 63. 

Heywood (George) house. Concord, 
188. 

Highland Park, Roxbur}', 386. 

Highland station (West Roxbury), 311. 

Highland station (Winthrop), 11, 12. 

Highland Stock Farm, Belmont, 224. 

High Rock, Westwood, 368. 

High School (Old Town Hall), Lex- 
ington, 152. 

Hildreth, Richard, at Harvard Col- 
lege, 240. 

Hillard, George S., at Harvard Col- 
lege, 242. 

Hillcrest, Woburn, 126. 

Hill; Don Gleason, Dedham, Historical 
Society, 358. 

Hillside Burying-Ground, Concord. 
See Buryiug-grounds. 

Hillside Chapel, Concord, 170, 185. 

Hillside Pond and Pool, Blue Hills, 
333, 348, 349. 

Historic HaU, Lexington, 161. 

•'Hitchings's Garden," Dedham, 367. 

Hittinger (Jacob) estate, Belmont, 
230. 

Hoar, E. Rockwood, house of, Con- 
cord, 202 ; grave of, 202. 



408 



INDEX. 



Hoar, E. Rockwood aud George F., 

birthplace of, Concord, 202. 
Hoar, Edward S., grave of, Concord, 

202. 
Hoar, Dr. Leonard, tomb of, Quincy, 

372. 
Hoar, Samuel, grave of, Concord, 201. 
" Hobgoblin Hall " (Royall mansion), 

Medford, 90. 
Holden Chapel, Harvard University, 

238, 239, 242. 
Hollingsworth, Amor A., Milton, 332. 
HoUis Hall, Harvard University, 237, 

23S 239 242. 
Hohn'es Field, Cambridge, 246, 247. 
Holmes, Dr. Oliver Wendell, grave 

of, Mt. Auburn, 25S. 
Holworthy Hall, Harvard University, 

237, 242. 
Homer (Eleazer) homestead, Belmont, 

227. 
Hooker, the Rev. Thomas, site of 

homestead of, Cambridge, 235. 
Hoosic-Whisick Pond, Blue Hills, 333, 

340, 341, 342, 348. 
Horn Pond, Wobum, 119, 125, 126, 

143. 
Horn Pond Brook, Winchester, 119, 

126. 
Horn Pond Mountain, Wobum, 119, 

120, 141, 143. 
Horsford, Professor Eben X., grave of, 

Mt. Auburn, 259. 
Hosmer house, Concord, 199. 
Hospital buildings, Cambridge, 260. 
Hospital, United States Naval and 

Marine, Chelsea. 18, 29, 30. 
Hough's Neck. Qiiincy, 369, 373. 
Houghton Farm, Blue Hills, 341, 343. 
Houghton's Hill, Blue Hills, 333, 340. 

342, 347. 
Houghton's Pond. See Hoosic-Whi- 

sick Pond. 
Howells, William D., in Belmont, 224. 
Hubbard's HQl, Concord, 205. 
Humboldt Avenue, Roxbury, 388. 
Humphreys homestead, Dorchester, 

390 
Hungry Plain. Wobum, 119, 133. 
Hunnewell Hill, Newton, 262, 263. 
Hunt house, old, Concord, 119, 203. 
Hunt house, Watertowii, 214. 
Hutchins, the Rev. Charles, house of, 

Concord, 203. 
Hutcliinson, Anne, 369, 379. 
Hutchinson (Governor Thomas) 

house, Milton, 321, 322. 
Hutchinson, William, 19 ; lands of, in 

Quincy, 369 ; site of house of, 379. 
Hyde Hill, Brookhne, 277. 
Hyde Park station, 311, 313. 

Indian Camp Pool, Blue Hills, 333. 



Indian Monument, West Medford, 82. 
Indian Rocks, Blue Hills, 351. 
Indian Spring, Middlesex Fells, 56. 
Ingalls's (Wiuthrop). 14. 
Institution Hill, Newton Centre, 262. 
Intervale Brook, Middlesex Fells, 51. 
Ireland. See Way-Ireland house. 
Island End Creek, 32. 
Island End River, 32. 

Jackson homestead, Mattapan (Mil- 
ton), 331. 

Jamaica Park, Boston parks system, 
290, 292, 30 i, 301. 

Jamaica Plain (West Roxburj), 300. 

Jamaica Pond, 299, 292, 300, 301. 

Jamaicaway. See Parkwajs. 

James (Professor Henry) house, Cam- 
bridge, 234. 

Jaques, Colonel Samuel, at Ten-Hills, 
85, 86. 

Jarvis Field, Cambridge, 246. 
, Jefferson Physical Laboratory, Har- 
' vard University, 247. 

Jeffrej', Patrick, in the Hutchinson 
I house, Milton, 323. 
I Jeffries's Point (East Boston), 24. 

Jerry Jingle Notch, iliddlesex Fells, 
i 47, 61. 

John Johnson's Sawmill Brook, Wo- 
i bum, 135, 137. 

Johnson, Captain Edward, 30, 120, 
I 124, 128; lands in Woburn, 135; 
j grave of, 142. 

! Johnson, Judge Edward F., Wobum, 
1 124, 134, 135. 
j Jones (Elisha) house, Concord, 194. 

Jones's Tavern, site of, Concord, 189. 

Joyce children, cairn commemorating 
the, 304. 
; Juniper Hill, Franklin Park, Boston 
parks system, 388. 

j Keayne, Captain Robert, lands of, in 
the Rumnej' Marsh (Chelsea), 19. 

Keelev Institute, Lexington, 153. 

Kendall Mill and Farm, Woburn, 135. 
j Kennard (Martin P.) estate, Brook- 
I line, 284. 

\ Keyes's Hill, Concord, 198. 
I Kidder (Henry P.) estate, Milton, 
I 325. 

Kindergarten for the Blind, Jamaica 
j Plain, 301. 
I Kitchamakin Hill, Blue Hills. 333. 

Knox, General Henry, 22, 248, 386, 
387, 390. 

L Pond, Melrose, 43. 

Lafayette, Marquis de, 66, 242, 243, 

323, 390. 
Lane (Job) house, Bedford, 176. 
Lane. Mary. See Whitmore. 



INDEX. 



409 



Langwood Hotel, Wyoming, 54, 59, 63. 

Lawrence, General Samuel C, Med- 
ford, 91, 92, 98, 

Lawrence Scientific School, Harvard 
University, 247. 

Lebanon Street, Maiden and Melrose, 
37. 

Lechmere, Richard, in Cambridge, 
253 ; portions of house of, 254. 

Ledges, The, Saugus, 32. 

Lee, General Charles, headquarters 
of, 76. 

Lee (Henry) estate, Brookliue, 287. 

Lee, George, house of, Bi'ookline, 296. 

Lee (Judge Joseph) house, Cambridge, 
255. 

Leverett Park, Boston parks system, 
290, 300. 

Leverett Pond, Leverett Park, 290. 

Lexington, 146-169 ; sketch of, 146. 

Lexington Green, Lexington, 146 ; 
stone pulpit on the, 154 ; monu- 
ment on the, 158. 

Lexington Historical Society, Lexing- 
ton, 155, 101. 

Lexington Road, 182, 188. 

Libraries. See Public Libraries. 

Linden station (Maiden), 32. 

Listening Hill, Woburn, 119, 120, 135, 
141. 

Little (James L.) estate, Brookline, 
293, 294. 

Little Neck, Middlesex Fells, 57. 

Lockwood (Rhodes) house, Lexing- 
ton, 149. 

Lojig Crouch Woods, Franklin Park, 
Boston parks system, 3S8. 

Longfellow, Henry W., bust of , 245 ; 
house of, 253 ; grave of, Mt. Au- 
burn, 258. 

Longfellow Garden, Cambridge, 254. 

Longfellow Memorial Association, 
254. 

Longfellow Park, Brighton, 254. 

Longwood (Brookline), 277. 

Loriug-Greenough house, Jamaica 
Plain, 301. 

Lothrop (the Rev. Samuel K.) house, 
Milton, 324. 

Lowe Art Tile Works, Chelsea, 16. 

Lowell (Augustus) estate, Brookline, 
287. 

Lowell, the Rev. Charles, estate of, 
Elmwood, Cambridge, 257. 

Lowell, Charles Russell, monument 
to, Soldiers Field, Brighton, 201. 

Lowell, James Jackson, monument to, 
Soldiers Field, Brighton, 261. 

Lowell, James Russell, birthplace and 
home of, 256, 257 ; grave of, Mt. 
Auburn, 259. 

Lowell, Chief Justice John, at Har- 
vard College, ^40. 



Lowell turnpike, old, 146, 149, 165, 
167. 

Lower Falls (Dorchester), 383. 

Lunt, the Rev. William Parsons, me- 
morial of, in Stone Temple, Quincy, 
371. 

Luther, Martin, Orphan Home (Brook 
Farm), West Roxbury, 310. 

Lyceum Hall, Dorchester, 390. 

Lyman (Theodore) estate, Brookline, 
287. 

Lyman Fountain, Dorchester, 391. 

Lyman Hill, Brookline, 277. 

Ljaide Farm, Maiden, 39. 

Magoun (Thatcher) houses, Medford, 

91, 92. 
Maiden, 32-39 ; sketch of, 32 ; Mid- 
dlesex Fells entrance, 61. 
Maiden Bridge. 33. 
Maiden Centre, 32, 36. 
Maiden Square, Maiden, 36. 
Maiden station, 36. 
Maiden Water Tower, 42. 
Manet Beach, Quincy, 373. 
Mann, Horace, law office of, Dedham, 

361. 
Manning, Warren H., 53, 60, 220, 222, 

223. 
Manse, the Old, Concord, 170, 186, 

192, 193, 194, 197, 202. 
Manual Training School, Cambridge, 

232, 233. 
Maplewood (Maiden), 32, 36. 
Maplewood station, 37. 
Marigold Brook, Blue Hills, 333, 348. 
I Marigold Valley, Blue Hills, 342, 348. 
Marine Park, South Boston, Boston 

parks system, 397. 
Marshall's Lane, Boston, 20. 
Mason (Jonathan) place, Brookline, 

288. 
Mason mansion-house, Lexington, 152. 
Massachusetts Avenue, 107, 147, 395. 
Massachusetts Hall, Harvard Univer- 
sity, 230, 238, 239, 240, 242. 
Massachusetts Yacht Club House, 

Dorchester, 391. 
Mather, the Rev. Cotton, 372, 303. 
Mather, Hannah, grave of, Brookline, 

285. 
:Mather, the Rev. Increase, 28, 393. 
Mather, the Rev. Richard, tomb of, 

Dorchester. 393. 
Mattapan (Milton), 318, 331, 333. 
Mattapan stations, 331. 
Matthews Hall, Harvard University, 

237, 238, 243, 
Maverick, Samuel, 18, 19 ; supposed 

site of his fortified house in East 

Boston, 21, 24 ; site of his first house 

in Chelsea, 30, 34, 105. 
Maverick Square, East Boston, 21. 



410 



INDEX. 



McLean Insane Asylum, Waverley 
(Belmont), 83, 209, 219, 223, 224, 
228. 

McLean (John) house, Mattapan, 332. 

Mead (S. 0.) place, Belmont, 227. 

Medford, Middlesex Fells entrance, 
52 ; 82-105 ; sketch of, 82. 

Medford Club House, Medford, 94. 

Medford Hillside (Medford), 82. 

Medford Historical Society, house of, 
9G. 

Medford House, Medford, 91. 

Medford Square, Medford, 92. 

Medford station, 47. 

Medford turnpike. See Mystic Ave- 
nue. 

Meedis's Meadow, Blue Hills, 356. 

Meeting-house Hill, Belmont, 218, 
228. 

Meeting-house Hill, Dorchester, 383, 
389, 390. 

Meeting-house Hill, Woburn, 142. 

Melrose, sketch of, 33 ; 37; Middlesex 
Fells entrance, 48 ; 62. 

Melrose Highlands (Melrose), 33. 

Melrose Highlands station, 47. 

Melrose station, 42, 47, 61. 

Memorial Hall, Harvard University, 
244, 245. 

Memorial Hall, Lexington, 147, 164. 

Menotomy, or Menotomy Plain. See 
Arlington. 

Merwin, Henry C, house of, Concord, 
202. 

Merriam house, Concord, 182. 

Merriam's Corner, Concord, 170, 172, 
181. 

Merrymount Park, Quincy, 369, 378. 

Metcalf Hall, Tufts College, 80. 

Methodist Episcopal Church, Brook- 
line, 281. 

Metropolitan Park Commission, 3, 15, 
47, 48. 

Metropolitan Park District, 1, 2, 3, 12, 
53. 

Middlesex Canal, the old, 103, 104, 
116. 

Middlesex Fells, 47-65 ; sketch of, 47 ; 
94 119 123 134. 

Middlesex Fells station, 32, 39, 47, 48, 
49. 

Middlesex turnpike, the old, 178. 

Middle Street, State Highway, Lexing- 
ton, 149. 

Mile-Long Ridge, Concord, 170, 182. 

Military Lane, Woburn, 119, 137. 

Milkweed Hill, Stony Brook Woods, 
312, 

Miller place, Quincy, 374. 

" Miller's Stile Path," Quincy, .374. 

Mill Road, the Old, Concord, 198. 

Milton, 318-332 ; .sketch of, 318. 

Milton Academy, Milton, 328. 



Milton Centre (Milton), 318, 336. 

Milton Churches, Milton, 325, 328, 
329. 

Milton Hill, Milton, 318, 320, 375. 

Milton Lower Mills (Milton), 318, 332, 
333, 350, 354, 390. 

Milton station, 318, 319. 

Miner Hall, Tufts College, 80. 

Mineralogical Museum, Harvard Uni- 
versity, 240. 

Minute-man, statue of. Concord, 195, 
196, 197. 

Mishawum (Woburn), 119, 120. 

Mishawum Road (old Reading road), 
Woburn, 139, 140. 

Mishawum station, 119, 139. 

Mitchel, the Rev. Jonathan, grave of, 
Cambridge, 248. 

Moll Pitcher Tree, Dedham, 368. 

Molly's Spring, Middlesex Fells, 56. 

Monadnock, Mt., views of, 114, 136, 
149, 168, 204, 224, 274, 312, 337. 

Monatiquot Stream, Blue Hills, 333, 
341, 342, 343, 349, 350, 355, 356. 

Moutvale (Woburn), 120. 

Monument Grounds, Charlestown, 69, 
70, 72. 

Monimient Square, Charlestown, 69. 

Morse, the Rev. Jedediah, 66. 

Morse, Samuel Fiuley Breese, birth- 
place of, Charlestown, 72. 

Morton, Dr. Thomas G., grave of, 
Mt. Auburn, 259. 

Motlier Brook, 316, 368. 

Motley, Thomas, tomb of, Mt. Au- 
burn, 258, 363. 

Moulton's Point, Charlestown, 67. 

Mount Auburn Cemetery, 210, 231 ; 
distinguished graves and sculpture 
in, 258. 

Mount Auburn station, 209, 210, 230. 

Mount Benedict, site of, Somerville, 
83. 

Mount Bowdoiu, Dorchester, 383, 390, 
391, 393. 

Mount Gilboa, or Converse Hill, Wo- 
burn, 119, 120, 140. 

Mount Ida, Newton, 202. 

Mount Independence, Lexington, 146, 
149. 

Mount Plainum, Woburn, 119, 133. 

Mount Pleasant, Woburn. See Eng- 
lish Hills. 

Mount Washington, Chelsea, 18, 28. 

Mount WoUaston (Merry Mount), 
Quincy, 373, 377, 378. 

Munroe'Hill, Lexington, 146, 149, 150, 
152, 163. 

Munroe homestead, Lexington, 152, 
160, 165. 

Munroe Meadow, Lexington, 119, 145. 

Munroe station, Lexington, 119, 145, 
146, 152, 165. 



INDEX. 



411 



Munroe Tavern, Lexington, 145, 146, 
149, 150, 151, 152, 156, 172. 

Museum of Comparative Zoology, 
Harvard Universitj', 245. 

Mystic Avenue (old Medford turn- 
pike), 84, 85, 86. 

Mystic Banks, 120, 121. 

Mystic Indians, monument to. West 
Medford, 104, 105. 

Mystic mar.slies, Medford, 90. 

Mystic Ponds (Upper and Lower), 
106; The Partings, 115, 117, 119. 

Mystic River, 1, 3, 82, 116. 

Mystic station (Winchester), 106, 117, 
118, 119, 120, 122. 

Mystic Valley, 55. 

Mystic Valley Parkway, 48, 105, 106, 
116, 117, 118, 119, 120. 

Mystic Water Works, 114, 116, 

Nanepashemet Hill, Middlesex Fells, 

56. 
Nashawatuk Canoe-house, Concord, 

199. 
Nashawatuk Hill, Concord, 199. 
Nathan Tufts Park, Somerville, 66, 

78. 
National Sailors' Home, Qulncy, 398. 
Naval Museum and Library, Navy 

Yard, 69. 
Navy Yard, Charlestown, 66, 67. 
Navy Yard, war vessels built in, 69. 
Nazingdale, Franklin Park, Boston 

parks sj'stem, 389. 
Neponset, 369, 382, 383, 391. 
Neponset River, 1, 5, 333, 334, 345, 

390. 
Neverfreeze Brook, Blue Hills, 333, 

353. 
New Boston Sti-eet (old Andover 

road), Woburn, 119, 139. 
Newburyport turnpike, Saugus, 32, 39, 

45. 
Newcomb's, Israel, milestone, Quiu- 

cy, 377. 
New-Church Theological School, Cam- 
bridge, 234, 245. 
Newgate (John) house. Revere, 27, 29. 
Newton, 262-267 ; sketch of, 262. 
Newton Boat Club House, Riverside, 

268, 269. 
Newton Central Boulevard, 262, 265, 

269. 
Newton Centre, 262, 266. 
Newton Highlands (Newton), 262, 

266, 268. 
Newton Lower FaUs (Newton), 262, 

266, 268. 
Newton Upper Falls (Newton), 262, 

266. 
Newtonville (Newton), 262, 266. 
Nickerson estate, Dedham, 363. 
Nine-Acre Corner, Concord, 207. 



Nohanton Hill, Blue Hills, 333, 352, 

353. 
Nonantum (Newton), 262. 
Nonantum Hill, Newton, 262, 263. 
Norfolk Downs (Quincy), 369. 
Norse Dam and Canals, Weston, 262, 

273. 
Norse landmarks, Cambridge, 259, 

260 ; Watertown, 210, 216 ; Weston, 

269-271,273. 
North Bridge, Chelsea, 29, 31. 
North Bridge, or Battle Bridge, Con- 
cord, 182, 190, 192, 194, 195, 198, 

199. 
North Cambridge (Cambridge), 231. 
North Gate, College Yard, Harvard 

University, 237, 244. 
North Lexington station, 168. 
North Quincy (Quincy), 369. 
North Road, Bedford, 175, 176, 

178. 
North Somerville (Somerville), 67. 
North Woburn (Woburn), 119, 120. 
North Woburn station, 119, 129. 
Norumbega Tower, Weston, 262, 263, 

269, 270; inscription on, 271. 
Noswetuset, or Sachem Knoll, Squan- 

tum, 380. 
Nowell, Increase, early settler, site of 

farm of, Winchester, 128. 
Nutting's Pond, Bedford, 178. 

Oakdale (Dedham), 357. 

Oakes, the Rev. Uriau, grave of, Cam- 
bridge, 248. 

Oak Grove (Maiden), 32. 

Oak Grove station, 47. 

Oak Hill, Newton, 262. 

Oak Island, Revere, 16. 

Oak Square, Brighton, 262, 263. 

Observatories : Arlington Heights, 
114; Belmont, Payson Park, 229; 
Concord, Punkatasset Hill, 204 ; 
Great Blue Hill, Rotch Meteoro- 
logical, 334, 335, 338, 339, 345 ; Mid- 
dlesex Fells, Bear Hill, 58, 141; 
Middlesex Fells, The Tower, 47, 56, 
58, 59 ; West Roxburj-, Bellevue 
Hill, 311, 312. 

Observatory, Astronomical, Harvard 
University, 252. 

Ocean Pier, Crescent Beach, 15. 

Ocean Spray station, Winthrop, 12, 

Odin house. Winter Hill, Somerville, 
87. 

Old Cambridge, 231. 

Old Harbor Shore, 397. 

Old Pete's Cove (Middlesex Fells), 
61, 64. 

Old Tony's Ledge, Middlesex Fells, 
57. 

Oliver (Provincial lieut.-governor), 
Thomas, 253 ; house of, in Cam- 



412 



INDEX. 



bridge, 25 ; house of, Dorchester, 

395. 
Olmstead (Frederick Law) house, 

Bi'ookline, 28G. 
Orchard house, Concord, 170, 185. 
O'Reilly, John Boyle, home of, 

Charlestown, 69. 
Orient Heights (Breed's Island), 8, 14, 

18, 25. 
Orthodox Congregational Church, 

Lexington, IGl. 
Otis, James, statue of, Mt. Auburn 

Chapel, 259. 
Overbrook Hill, Stony Brook Woods, 

314. 
Overlook, The, Franklin Park, Bos- 
ton parks system, 388. 
Owen's Walk, Middlesex FeUs, 51, 53. 

Page house, Bedford, 179. 

Paige Hall, Tufts College, 80. 

Painter's Arms, Boston, 21. 

Pakomet Spring, Blue Hills, 333. 

Palaver Tavern. See Fountain Tav- 
ern. 

Palfrey, John C, at Harvard College, 
240 ; grave of, Mt. Auburn, 259. 

Palmer, Captain Julius A., 144. 

Panther Cave, Middlesex Fells, 51. 

Parish Church, Bedford, 173. 

Parker Hill, Roxbury, 383. 

Parker Schoolhouse, Watertown, 218. 

Parker, Theodore, 100, 140; Parker 
Pine, 150, 153 ; birthplace of, 153 ; 
155, 157, 218 ; Parker Church, West 
Roxbury, 297, 300, 305; Parker 
house, 307 ; Parker Oak. 307 ; 
310. 

Parkman, Francis, at Harvard Col- 
lege, 240 ; site of summer seat in Ja- 
maica Park, 293. 

Parkways, connecting Boston parks 
system and Blue Hills, 311, 333 ; in 
Boston i^arks system, River way, 
278, 279, 300, Jamaicaway, 290, 300, 
301, Arborway, 292, 302, 389, Dor- 
chesterway, 39G, 397, Strandway, 
397, West Roxbury Parkway, 297, 
311, 312; approaches to Middlesex 
Fells, Fellsway East (from Mai- 
den), 01, Fellsway West (from Med- 
ford), 85, 99 ; Mystic Valley Park- 
way, lOG, 117, 118, 120. 

Parlin, Fred E. (Memorial or Public 
Library Building), Everett, 35. 

Parsons, Chief Justice Theophilus, at 
Harvard College, 240. 

Parting Stone, The Dudley, Roxbury, 
38G. 

Partings, The. See Mystic Ponds. 

Partridge (William Ordway) house 
and studio, Milton, 324, 325. 

Pasture Hill, Medford, 82, 94. 



Paul's Bridge, Milton, 334, 335. 
Payson house, Milton, 326. 
Payson Park, Belmont, 209, 228, 229. 
Peabodj', tlie Rev. Andrew P., Cam- 
bridge, 234, 243. 
Peabody, the Rev. Oliver, tomb of, 

Roxbury, 384 ; parsonage, 3SG. 
Peabody Museum of American Archae- 
ology and Ethnology, Harvard Uni- 
versity, 245. 
Peabody (Oliver) place, Milton, 324. 
Peirce homestead, Lexington, 149. 
Peirce's Bridge, 145 ; station, 149 ; 

165. 
" Pelham's Manor," 146. 
Penn's Hill, Quincy, 375. 
Penniman (the Rev. Joseph) house, 

Bedford, 175. 
Pepperell, Sir William, site of coun- , 

try seat, Jamaica Plain, 292. 
Pequossett Hill, Belmont, 209, 228, 

229. 
Perch, The, Stony Brook Woods, 313. 
Percy, Lord, in " Menotomy " and 

Lexington, 77, 108, 110, 150, 151, 

152, 153, 172. 
Perkins, Charles E., house of, Milton, 

325. 
Perkins Hall, Harvard University, 

246. 
Perkins, Stephen George, monument 

to. Soldiers Field, Brighton, 261. 
Perkins Street, Brookline, 277, 291, 

292, 293 ; Jamaica Plain, 301. 
Peter's Hill, West Roxbury, 305. 
Philippe, Louis, in Boston, 19. 
Phillips, Ann, grave of, Milton, 328. 
Phillips place, Saugus, 45. 
Phillips, Wendell, at Harvard College, 

242 ; grave of, Milton, 318, 328. 
Phoenix Tavern, Dedham, 306 ; site 

of, 358. 
Pickerel Rock, Middlesex Fells, 51. 
Pickman (Dudley L.) estate, Bedford, 

176, 178. 
Pierce, Elmore A., Woburn, 141. 
Pierce, Ex-President Franklin, grave 

of ancestor of, Woburn, 142 ; 183. 
Pierce Farm, Woburn, 129. 
Pierce Hall, Brookline, 280, 284. 
Pierce (Robert) house, Dorchester, 

391. 
Pierpont, the Rev. John, house of, 

West Medford, 102. 
Pine Bank, Jamaica Park, Boston 

parks system, 277, 291, 301. 
Pine Banks, Maiden and Melrose, 32, 

39, 40, 41. 
Pine Hill, Melrose, 43. 
Pine Hill, Middlesex Fells, 47, 48, 

52. 
Pine-tree Brook, Blue Hills, 352. 
Pinnacle Rock, Middlesex Fells, 61. 



INDEX. 



413 



Pitcairn, Major, at Concord, 172, 189, 

190, 198. 
Pitt's Head, or "Pillar of Liberty," 

Dedham, 357, 3G0, 361. 
Playstead, The, Franklin Park, Bos- 
ton parks system, 388, 389. 
Pleasant Street, Arlington, 111. 
Pleasant Street, Milton, 326. 
Pleasant Street, Watertown-Waver- 

ley, 209, 219. 
Pleasant Street station, Winthrop, 14. 
Pleasure Baj^, Marine Park, Boston 

parks system, 397. 
Point of Pines, Revere Beach, 7, 10, 

17. 
Point Shirley, 4, 7, 8, 12. 
Point Shirley House (Taft's), 13. 
Pole, William, tomb of, Dorchester, 

394. 
Ponica Meadow, Brookline, 299. 
Ponkapog Pass, Blue Hills, 348. 
Ponkapog Pond, Canton, 333, 340, 

343. 
Ponkapog Trail, Blue Hill.^, 343. 
Poore (Henry V.) estate, Brookline, 

284. 
Porter, the Rev. Aaron, grave of, 

Medford, 95. 
Porter, the Rev. Eliphalet, tomb of, 

Roxbury, 384 ; 386. 
Porter Lot Swamp, Blue Hills, 349, 

350. 
Porter's station, North Cambridge, 

106. 
Pound, Old, Milton, 329. 
Powder House, Concord, 190. 
Powder House, Old, Somerville, 66, 

67, 77. 
Powder House, Woburn, 142. 
Powder House Rock, Dedham, 357, 

361, 363, 364. 
Powderhorn Hill, Chelsea, 18, 27. 
Pranker's Mill, Saugus, 45. 
Pranker's Pond, Saugus, 32, 45. 
Pratt (Anna Bronson Alcott), Mrs., 

Concord, 185 ; grave of, 200 ; 202. 
Pratt, Frederick G., house of, Con- 
cord, 202. 
Pratt, Minot, Concord, 178, 197 ; 

homestead of, 202 ; 203, 204, 309. 
Pratt Elm, Concord, 202. 
Preble, Judge William Pitt, at Har- 
vard College, 242. 
Prescott, Colonel William, at Breed's 

Hill, 1775, 69 ; statue of, 70 ; 247. 
Prescott, WUliam, at Harvard College, 

242. 
President's Hill, Quincy, 376. 
Professors' Row, Tufts College, 79, 

80. 
Prospect) Hill, Somer%nlle, 66, 67, 75. 
Prospect Hill, Waltham, 262, 263, 272, 

273, 274, 27^ 



Public Libraries, Arlington, 280; 
Bedford, 179 ; Belmont, 226 ; Brook- 
line, 280 ; Cambridge, 233 ; Con- 
cord, 202 ; Everett, 35 ; Lexington, 
164 ; Maiden, 36 ; Medford, 92 ; 
Milton, 321 ; Somerville, 76 ; 
Quincy, 373 ; Watertown, 218 ; 
Winchester, 123; Woburn, 137. 

Puukatasset Hill, Concord, 202, 204. 

Purgatory Road, Blue Hills, 351, 352, 
354, 356. 

Purgatory Swamp, Dedham, 357, 366. 

Putnam, Major-General Israel, 22, 25, 
74, 75, 76 ; site of headquarteis of, 
Cambridge, 232 ; site of battery of, 
233. 

Quadrangle, College Yard, Harvard 

University, 235, 237, 238. 
Quarry Walk, Middlesex Fells, 51, 53. 
Quincy, 369-382 ; sketch of, 369. 
Quincy, or Dowse house, Dedham, 

363. 
Quincy Adams (Quincy), 369, 375. 
Quincy Bay, Quincy, 373. 
Quincy Centre, 369, 375. 
Quincy, Dorothy (" Dorothy Q."), 

birthplace of, Quincy, 377. 
Quincy, Edmund, 19, 369 ; tomb of, 

in Quincy, 372 ; homestead of, 377. 
Quincy Hall, Cambridge, 234. 
Quincy Historical Society, 375. 
Quincy mansion-houses, Quincy, 377, 

378. 
Quincy Point, 369, 373. 
Quincy, tombs of first ministers, 371. 
Quincy Woods, Quincy, 373. 
Quincy Yacht Club House, 373. 

Radcliffe College, Cambridge, 231, 

250 ; sketch of, 252. 
Rag Rock, Woburn, 119, 120. 
Randolph Pass, Blue Hills, 321. 
Randolph turnpike, 328, 330, 333, 343, 

344, 350, 351, 352, 354, 355, 356. 
Rangeley, Winchester, 119, 128. 
Rattlesnake Den, Blue Hills, 333, 344. 
Rattlesnake Hill, Blue Hills, 333, 351, 

352. 
Ravine Road, Melrose, 47, 54. 
Read house, Milton, 329. 
Readville, 311, 315, 333, 334. 
Read's Lane, Milton, 329. 
Refectory Hill, Franklin Park, Boston 

parks system, 389. 
Reservoir Grounds, Cambridge^ 256. 
Reservoir station (Brighton), 277. 
Resting Ground, Old, Franklin Park, 

Boston parks system, 388. 
Revere, 15, 17, 26, 27, 28, 32, 33, 35. 
Revere Beach, 7, 8, 14, 15, 18, 24. 
1 Revere, Paul, 9, 11, 16, 17, 86, 162, 

320. 



414 



INDEX. 



Rice, Sibyl Gardner, grave of, Milton, 
328. 

Richards (Reuben A.), mansion-house, 
Mattapan, 331. 

Richardson (Henry H.) house. Brook- 
line, 287. 

Richardson houses, Winchester, 124, 
125, 126. 

Richardson's Park, Dorchester, 397. 

Ridge, The, Concord, 197, 200, 201. 

Ridge Path, Concord, 200, 201. 

Ridge Walk, Lexington, 146, 149, 
150. 

Riedesel, Baroness, house, Cambridge, 
occupied by, 1777, 255. 

Rimmer, William, grave of, Milton, 
318, 327, 328. 

Rindge buildings, Cambridge, 231, 
232. 

Ripley, Rev. Dr. Ezra, Old Manse, 
Concord, 193, 197. 

Ripley, George, Brook Farm, 309. 

Ripley, Marianna, home of, Concord, 
203, 309. 

Rising Sun Tavern, Milton, 321. 

Riverside (Newton), 262. 

Riverside Press, Cambridge, 232. 

Riverside station, 268. 

Riverway. See Parkways. 

Robbins (Lieut.-Governor Edward H.) 
estate, Milton, 324, 332. 

Roberts station (Waltham), 272, 273. 

Robinson Hill, Lexington, 106, 169. 

Rock Milton, Franklin Park, Boston 
parks system, 388. 

Rock Morton, Franklin Park, Boston 
parks system, 388. 

Rocks, The Medford, 94. 

Rooney's Rock, Stony Brook Woods, 
316. 

Roslindale (West Roxbury), 300, 312. 

Rotch (A. Lawrence) Observatory, 
Blue Hills, 338. 

Roxbury, 383-389 ; sketch of, 383. 

Roxbury, tombs of first ministers, 
384. 

Roxbury Upper Fort, site of, Rox- 
bury, 386, 387. 

Royall house, Medford, 76, 82, 87, 88, 
89, 132. 

Royall, Isaac, tomb of, Dorchester, 
394. 

Ruggles (Captain George) house, Cam- 
bridge, 356. 

Ruggles house, Quincy, 374. 

Rumford, Count (Benjamin Thomp- 
son), 20, 119, 120; birthplace of, 
Woburn, 129 ; sketch of, 131 ; 133. 

Rumford Historical Association 
Rooms, Woburn, 129. 

Rumford Library, Woburn, 129, 130. 

Russell (Colonel Henry S.) estate, Mil- 
ton, 330. 



Russell (George R.) estate. West Rox- 
bury, 307. 

Russell (Ex-Governor William E.), 
house, Cambridge, 256. 

Russell House, Lexington, 153. 

Russell, Jason, killed, April 19, 1775, 
grave of and monument, Arlington, 
110 ; house of, 113. 

Russell, Thomas, occupant of Vassall 
house, Cambridge, 254. 

Ru-ssell's Hill, Woburn, 126. 

Russell's Tavern. See Great Tavern. 

Saddleback Hill, Middlesex Fells, 47. 

Sagamore John, chief of the Mystic 
tribe, 31 ; his dwelling - place by 
Island End River, 34 ; monument 
to. West Medford, 104. 

Sailors' Snug Harbor, Quincy, 373. 

St. Francis de Sales (Catholic church), 
Bunker Hill, Charlestown, 74. 

St. John's Memorial Chapel, and the 
Deanery, Cambridge, 253. 

St. Joseph Church (Catholic), Med- 
ford, 91. 

Sanborn, Frank B., house of, Concord, 
202, 207. 

Sanders Theatre, Memorial Hall, Har- 
vard University, 245. 

Sandy Valley, Dedham, 368. 

Sargent (Professor Charles S.) estate, 
Brookline, 286, 293. 

Sassamon Notch, Blue Hills, 333, 
353. 

Saugiis, 32 ; sketch of, 33 ; 38, 39, 43. 

Saugus Centre, 32, 45, 46. 

Saugus, North, 32. 

Saugus Poor Farm (formerly the Judge 
Tudor place), 45. 

Saugus River, 3, 7, 17, 33, 45. 

Savage, James, monument to, Sol- 
diers Field, Brighton, 261. 

Saville (Deacon) house, Quincy, 375. 

Savin Hill, Dorchester, 383, 392. 

Savin Hill station, 392. 

Saw Mill Brook, Concord, 204. 

Sawcut Notch, Blue Hills, 351. 

Sawpit Lane, Woburn, 135. 

Scarboro Hill, Franklin Park, Boston 
parks sj'stem, 388. 

Scarboro Pond, Franklin Park, Bos- 
ton jjarks system, 388. 

Schlesinger (Bartliold) place. Brook- 
line, 287. 

School of Agriculture and Horticul- 
ture, Harvard University, 303. 

School of Philosophy and Literature, 
Concord, 185. 

Schoolmaster Hill, Franklin Park, 
Boston parks system, 388. 

Scott's, or Scotch, Woods, Blue Hills, 
333. 

Secomb (Thomas) house, Medford, 93. 



INDEX. 



415 



Semitic Museum, Harvard University, 

246. 
Sever Hall, Harvard University, 235, 

237, 244. 
Shadow Point, Blue Hills, 333, 340. 
Shaker Glen, Woburn, 119, 127, 136, 

145. 
Shaw (Francis G.) place. West Rox- 

bury, 307. 
Shaw, Colonel Robert Gould, at Har- 
vard College, 240 ; monument to. 
Soldiers Field, Brighton, 201. 
Shawshine River, Bedford, 178, 179. 
Shepard Congregational Church, Cam- 
bridge, 252. 
Shepard, the Rev. Thomas, site of 

house of, Cambridge, 235 ; grave of, 

248 ; 264. 
Shilly Shally Brook, Middlesex Fells, 

47, 49. 
Shiner Pool, Middlesex Fells, 47, 50, 

63. 
Shirley, Governor William, 7 ; site of 

house of, Roxbury, 385. 
Short Beach, Wiuthrop, 12. 
Shrimptou's, Colonel Samuel, estate 

on Noddle's Island (East Boston), 

23 24. 
Silver Brook, Blue Hills, 341. 
Silver Mine, Old, Middlesex Fells, 47, 

51. 
Silver Mine Hill, Middlesex Fells, 47, 

51. 
Silver Pool, Blue Hills, 333, 341. 
Silver Spring, Blue Hills, 341. 
" Simpson's Tavern," Medford, 93. 
Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Concord, 

171, 192, 200. 
Slide Notch, Blue Hills, 333. 
Smith, Lieut.-Colonel, 107 ; his head- 
quarters at Concord, 189 ; 190, 192. 
Soldiers Field, Brighton, 231, 246, 

260. 
Soldiers' Monuments : Arlington, 107 ; 

Cambridge, 248 ; Concord, 191 ; 

Dorchester, 390 ; Jamaica Plain, 

301 ; Soldiers Field, 260. 
Somerville, sketch of, 66 ; 74-81 ; 

Winter Hill and neighborhood, 83- 

87; 107. 
South Boston, 383. 
South Boston Point, 383. 
South Bridge, now Red Bridge, Con- 
cord, 199. 
South East Ridge (or Faxon's Hill), 

Blue Hills, 333, 334, 355. 
South Lincoln station, 208. 
South Quincy (Quincy), 369. 
Sparks, Jared, house of, Cambridge, 

234 ; at Harvard College, 240 ; 242, 

254. 
Spot Pond, Middlesex Fells, 47,50, 51, 

60, 61, 63, 64. 



Spot Pond Brook, Middlesex Fells, 61. 
Spring Hill, Somerville, 67, 77. 
Spring Pasture, Middlesex Fells, 57. 
Spring Street station. West Roxbury, 

300, 310. 
Spy Pond, Arlington, 106, 107, 112. 
Squamaug Notch, Blue Hills, 333, 

353. 
Squantum Head, 369, 379 ; Standish 

monument on, 380. 
Squaw Rock, Squantum Head, 381. 
Squaw Sachem Rock, Middlesex Fells, 
47, 55. 

Squantum Meadows, 379. 

Squantum Road, East Milton and 
Quincy, 379. 

Stark, Colonel John, 69, 90. 

Stearns (Elijah) mansion-house, Bed- 
ford, 175. 

Stearns (the Rev. Samuel) mansion- 
house, Bedford, 175. 

Stickney estate, Watertown, 215. 

Stimson, Frederick J., house of, Ded- 
ham, 359. 

Stone, Captain John, grave of, Con- 
cord, 190. 

Stone Croft Farm, Bedford, 174. 

Stone Temple, Quincy, 369, 370, 371, 
373. 

Stoueham, 3, 32, 47, 52, 94, 124. 

Stony Brook Reservation, 311-317. 

Stony Brook Reservoir, 202, 272. 

Stony Brook station, 273. 

Storrow estate, Brookline, 290. 

Story, Judge Joseph, statue in Mt. 
Auburn Chapel, 259. 

Stoughton, Colonel Israel, 318, 335, 
392. 

Stoughton, Chief Justice William, 238; 
site of house of, Dorchester, 392 ; 
tomb of, 393, 394. 

Stoughton Hall, Harvard University, 
237, 238, 239, 241, 242. 

Straight Gully Brook, Middlesex 
Fells, 51. 

Strandway, The. See Parkways. 

Streamside Ledge, Blue Hills, 333, 
355. 

Sudbury River, Concord, 199. 

Suffolk Resolves House (Old Vose 
mansion-house), Milton, 318, 319. 

Sullivan, General, sites of fortifica- 
tions by, 83, 85 ; 90. 

Sullivan's Quarry, Blue Hills, 351. 

Sumner, Charles, at Harvard College, 
242 ; grave of, Mt. Auburn, 259. 

Sun Tavern, Boston, 19. 

Sunnyside, Winthrop, 8, 14. 

Swain's Pond, Melrose, 32, 38. 

Swan house, site of, Dorchester, 389. 

Swedenborg Church, Brookline, 290. 

SjTnmes Corner, Winchester, 104, 119, 
122, 123. 



416 



INDEX. 



Taft's. See Point Shirley House. 
Taft's Tavern, West Roxbury, 306; 

old stage route from, 307. 
Tailer, Governor William, tomb of, 

Dorchester, 393. 
Talleyrand, at Hancock Tavern, in 

Boston, 19. 
Tappan (Lewis), now Blake, house, 

Brookliiie, 283. 
Taunton turnpike, 344, 355. 
Tay (Major Sauuiel), homestead, 

North Woburn, 129. 
Taylor, Gordon H., 337. 
Temple family on Noddle's Island 

(East Boston), '23. 
Temple Farm. See Ten-Hills Farm. 
Temple Lane, Old, to Ten-Hills Farm, 

85. 
Temple mansion-house, site of. East 

Boston, 23. 
Ten-Hills Farm, Mystic River side, 

82, 83, 85, 8G, 99. 
Thacher family, graves of, Milton, 327. 
Thacher, Oxenbridge, in Milton. 331. 
Thacher, the Rev. Peter, first minister 

of Milton, tomb of, 327 ; site of 

house of, 330 ; 339. 
Thacher's Plain, Milton, 330. 
Thayer Hall, Harvai-d University, 237, 

243. 
Thomas, General John Thomas, head- 
quarters of, in Roxbury during siege 

of Boston, 38(3. 
Thomas Park, South Boston, 397. 
Thompson, Abijah, estate, Winches- 
ter, 128. 
Thompson, Benjamin (Count Rum- 
ford). See Count Rumford. 
Thompson's Island, Boston Harbor, 

381. 
Thompson, Benjamin, early Roxbury 

schoolnia.ster, grave of, 384. 
Thoreau, Henry D., 170; site of hut 

of, Walden Pond, Concord, 187 ; the 

Cairn, 188; 199; grave of, 200; 

house of, 202 ; 203, 206, 207, 242. 
Thoreau Hou.se (hotel), Concord, 192. 
Thoreau, John, grave of. Concord, 

200. 
Thoreau's Woods, 170, 188. 
Thornton's (Winthrop), 13. 
Tidd farmhouse, Nortlj Lexington, 

site of, 167. 
Tidd Hill, North Lexington, 146, 166, 

167, 108. 
Tidd schoolhouse. North Lexington, 

167. 
Tomson, the Rev. William, first min- 
ister of Quincj', grave of, 371. 
'.'Tory Row," Cambridge, 252, 253, 

254, 256. 
Tower (Colonel William A.) estate, 

Lexington, 149. 



Town Brook, Quincy, 373, 374. 

Town-houses : Arlington, 109 ; Bed- 
ford, 173 ; Belmont, 209 ; Brookline, 
280 ; Concord, 200 ; Dedham, 358 ; 
Lexington, 143, 153, 164 ; Water- 
town, 218 ; Winchester, 55, 

Town Hill, Charlestown, 67. 

Town Pound, Brookline, 288. 

Tracy, Nathaniel, at Ten-Hills, 86 ; 
occupant of the Colonel John Va&sall 
house, Cambridge, 254. 

Trail Road, Franklin Park, Boston 
parks system, 383. 

Train House, Medford, 91. 

Trowbridge, James T., 108 ; home of, 
Arlington, 112. 

Tucker Hill, Blue Hills, 333. 

Tudor (Frederick), formerly the Lu- 
ther Adams place, Brighton, 263. 

Tudor (Judge) place (now Saugus 
Poor Farm), 45. 

Tufts, John, old farm-house, Somer- 
ville, 76. 

Tufts, Nathan, Park. See Nathan 
Tufts Park. 

Tufts, Dr. Simon, first physician of 
Medford, grave of, 95. 

Tufts College, College Hill, 66, 67, 80, 
81. 

Tufts College Library, 80. 

Tufts family, graves of, Medford, 95. 

Tufts Square, Somerville, 97. 

Turell (the Rev. Ebenezer) house, 
site of, Medford, 91. 

Turkey Hill, Arlington, 106, 113, 114. 

Turkey Hill Saw-Mill Brook, Woburn, 
137. 

Turkey Swamp, old, Middlesex Fells, 
56, 57, 59. 

Turtle Pond (Muddy Pond), Stony 
Brook Woods, 311, 312, 314. 

Tuttle (Joseph) house, Dorchester, 
392. 

Twin Bridges, Blue Hills, 350. 

"Twin Churches," Milton, 329, 332. 

Twin Sentinels. See Black Rock and 
White Rock. 

Tyler, William R., Quincy, 375. 

Underwood estates, Belmont, 227. 

Union Market station, Watertown, 
214. 

Union Square (old Algerine Corner), 
Milton, 325, 326. 

Union Square, Somerville, 67, 74. 

Unitarian Church, Belmont, 227. 

Unitarian Church, successor of first 
meeting-liouse, Dedham, 361. 

Unitarian Church, succes.sor of first 
meeting-liouse, Jamaica Plain, 301. 

Unitarian Church, Winchester, 123. 

Unitarian or the Old Church, Con- 
cord, 189. 



INDEX. 



417 



University Hall, Harvard University, 
237, 242, 243. 

University Museum, Harvard Univer- 
sity, 245, 246. 

Upham, formerly Hamlin place, 
Brookline, 287. 

Upham's Corner, Dorchester, 383, 
389, 393. 

Upham's Lane, Melrose, 38. 

Upper Farms, Noddle's Island (East 
Boston), 21. 

Ursuhne Convent, Benedict Hill, 
Charlestown Xeck, site of, 83. 

Van Vorhees Farm, Everett, 32, 33, 
35. 

Vane, Sir Harry, lands allotted to, in 
Rumney Marsli (Chelsea), 19 ; 247. 

Vassall (Colonel Henry) house, Cam- 
bridge, 253. 

Vassall (Colonel John), later Long- 
fellow, house, Cambridge, 254. 

Vassall (Leonard), later John Adams 
place, Quiucj', 376. 

Vassall monument, in the old bury- 
ing-ground, Cambridge, 249. 

Vassall tomb, in Christ Cliurch, Cam- 
bridge, 250. 

Vassalls, Tlie, 90, 250, 253, 254, 256, 
376, 395. 

Village Square, Brookline, 27.7, 278, 
285, 289. 

Vine Brook, Arlington, 113. 

Virginia Road, Bedford, 181. 

Virginia Wood, Middlesex Fells, 47, 
54, 61, 63. 

Vose or " Suffolk Resolves" house, 
Milton, 318, 319, 321, 359. 

Waban (Newton), 262, 266; station, 

268. 
Waban Hill, Newton, 262, 265. 
Waclausett Mountain, views of, 55, 59, 

114, 149, 168, 204, 224, 274, 312, 337. 
Wade (Andrew Jackson) house, Wo- 

burn, 140. 
Wade, Major Jonathan, builder of the 

old garrison liouse, Medford, 93. 
Wadsworth, President (Harvard Col- 
lege) Benjamin, 235, 330. 
Wadsworth family, graves of, Milton, 

327. 
Wadsworth Hill, Milton, 330. 
Wadsworth, or old President, house, 

Harvard University, 235, 237, 239. 
Waittwood, Franklin Park, Boston 

parks system, 388. 
Walden Pond, Concord, 187. 
Walden station, Concord, 207, 208. 
Walford, Thomas, site of palisaded 

house of, Charlestown, 67. 
Walker (Theophilus), formerly Gore, 

mansion-house, Waltham, 276. 



Walker, President (Harvard College), 
James, 73 ; in Harvard College, 240. 

Wabiut Hill, Brookline, 277, 297. 

Walnut Hill, Woburn, 120. 

Walnut Hill Shooting Range, Woburn, 
139. 

Walnut Hill section (Dedham), 357. 

Walnut Hill station, Woburn, 139, 
141. 

Walter, the Rev. Nathaniel, street 
named for. West Roxbury, 305. 

Walter, the Rev. Nehemiah, tomb of, 
Roxbury, 384. 

Walter, the Rev. Thomas, tomb of, 
Roxbury, 384. 

Waltham, 262, 2G3, 273-276. 

Wamoset Hill, Middlesex Fells, 64. 

Wampatuck Hill, Blue Hills, 333, 
352. 

War vessels built at Navy Yard, 
Charlestown, 69. 

Ward, General Artemas, 85 ; in Har- 
vard College, 240; headquarters, 
1775, 247. 

Ware (the Rev. Henry) house, Milton, 
324. 

Warren homestead, site of, Roxbury, 
385. 

Warren, Dr. John, birthplace of, Rox- 
bury, 385. 

Warren, Dr. John Collins, 285, 385. 

Warren, General Joseph, 26, 67 ; 
statue of, 71 ; 107, 209, 214, 247, 
320, 323 ; site of birthplace of, 385. 

Warren Hill, Dedham, 357. 

Washington Elm, Cambridge, 248, 249, 
250, 251. 

Washington, General George, 22, 28, 
91 ; in Lexington, 151 ; in Water- 
towTi, 217 ; in Cambridge, 249, 250, 
254 ; 322 ; m Dedham, 362 ; 397. 

Washington, Martha, 214, 254. 

Washington Park, Clielsea, 28. 

Wasson, tlie Rev. David A., house of, 
West Medford, 100. 

Watersmeet Meadow, Stony Brook 
Woods, 317. 

Watertown, 209-223 ; sketch of, 209. 

Watertown station, 218. 

Waverley, sketch of, 209 ; 221-223. 

Waverley Hills, 209, 219. 

Waverley Oaks, 209, 220, 221. 

Waverley station, 209. 

Way-Ireland house, Chelsea, 28, 29. 

"Wayside, The," Concord, 170, 183, 
185. 

Webster, Fletcher, house occupied by, 
Quincy, 378. 

Wedge Pond, Winchester, 119, 126, 
127. 

Wedgmere (Winchester), 126, 127. 

Weed (Dr. Charles G.) estate, Brook- 
line, 294. 



418 



INDEX. 



Weirs, The. "West Medford, 82, 105, 
117, 129. 

Weld Boat-House, Cambridge, 260. 

Weld (William D.) estate, Brookline, 
294. 

Weld Farm, West Roxbury, 297. 

Weld Hall, Harvard University, 237, 
243. 

Wellington (Medford), 82. 

Wellington, Benjamin, Lexington 
minute-man, tablet to. East Lexing- 
ton, 147. 

Wellington family, graves of, in Wa- 
tertown graveyard, 211. 

Wellington Hill, Belmont, 209, 224. 

Wenepoykin Hill, Middlesex Fells, 
51. 

West Bedford station, 181. 

West Hall, Tufts College, 80. 

West Medford (Medford), 82, 99, 105, 
lOG, 122. 

West Medford station, 99. 

West Newton (Newton), 262, 266. 

West Quincy (Quincy), 333. 

We.st Roxbury, 278, 297; 300-310; 
sketch of, 300. 

West Somerville (Somerville), 66, 67. 

Weston, 262, 269-273. 

Westwood, 357, 367. 

Wheelwright, the Rev. John, fir.st 
minister at Mt. Wollaston, 369, 371, 
374. 

Whip Hill, Middlesex Fells, 47, 64. 

Whispering Hill, Woburn, 120, 134, 
135, 141. I 

White (Jonathan) estate, Brookline, ' 
284. 

White (Joseph) estate, Bi-ookline, 284. 

White Rock, Middlesex Fells, 48, 49. ! 

Wliite's Hill, Watertown, 209, 218. [ 

Whiting (George O.) place, Lexing- 
ton, 167. 

Whitman (William) place, Brookline, 
294. 

Whitney (Henry M.) house, Brook- 
line, 295. 

Whitney, the Rev. Peter, tablet to, 
in the Stone Temple, Quincy, 371. 

Whitney place, Milton, 332. 

Whitmore family, graves of, in old 
burying-ground, Medford, 95. 

Whitmore, Mary (late Lane), grave 
of, Bedford, l'80. 

Whittemore, Amos, inventor, grave 
of, Arlington, 111. 

Whittemore, Samuel, in the 19th of 
April, 1775, fight, tablet to, Arling- 
ton, 111. 

Wigglesworth (George) place, Milton, 
325. 

Wigglesworth, the Professors, site of 
their homesteads, Cambridge, 235. 

Wigwam Ponds, Dedham, 366. 



Wigwam Swamp, Dedham, 366. 

Wild Cat Notch, Blue Hills, 346. 

Wild Duck Pool, Blue Hills, 333, 
335. 

Wilderness, The, Franklin Park, Bos- 
ton parks system, 388. 

Wildwood Cemetery, Winchester, 127. 

Willard, President (Harvard College), 
Samuel, gi'ave of, Cambridge, 249. 

Willard, Samuel, architect Bunker 
Hill Monument, 71, 351, 369. 

Williams (Moses) estate, Brookline, 
284. 

Williams (Moses) house, Jamaica 
Plain, 302. 

Williams mansion-house on Noddle's 
Island (East Boston), site of, 22. 

Willis family, graves of, in the old 
burying-ground, Medford, 95. 

Willis, Nathaniel P., grave of, Mt. 
Auburn, 259. 

Willow Road, Dedham, 357. 

Wilson, the Rev. John, first minister 
of Boston, 247, 265 ; lands of, at 
Mt. Wollaston (Quincy), 309. 

Wilson, Captain Jonathan, of the Bed- 
ford minute-men, 174 ; grave of, 
180. 

Wilson Park, Bedford, 175. 

Winchester, 119-129 ; sketch of, 119. 

Wincliester Highlands (Winchester), 
119, 124. 

Winchester Highlands station, 125. 

Winchester Hill, Newton, 262. 

Winchester Historical and Genealogi- 
cal Society, 124. 

Winchester Reservoirs (Middle. South, 
and North), 47, 51, 56, 57, 58, 59. 

Winchester station, 56, 106, 117, 119, 
128. 

Winn (Colonel William) house, Wo- 
burn, 134. 

Winn Memorial (Public Library Build- 
ing), Woburn, 120. 

Winn-Nichols house, Woburn, 131. 

Winship, Jason, and others killed in 
the April 19, 1775, fight, graves of, 
and monuments to, 110, 111, 249. 

Winslow (Admiral John A.) house, 
Roxbury, 385. 

Winter Hill, Somerville, 66, li, 82, 93. 

Winter Hill Fort, site of, Somerville, 
86. 

Winter Pond, Winchester, 119. 

Winthrop, 7-14 : sketch of, 7. 

Winthrop Battery, Winthrop, 8, 9. 

Winthrop Beach, 12. 

Winthrop Beach station, 14. 

Winthrop Centre, 7, 8, 14. 

Winthrop, Deane, 7, 8 ; old home- 
•stead of, 9, 11. 

Winthrop (Robert C.) estate, Brook- 
line, 287. 



J 



INDEX. 



419 



Winthrop (Governor John) Farm, Bed- 
ford, 170, 175, 17(J, 177, 178. 

Winthrop, Gov. John, 7, 10, 11, 18, 19, 
30, 31, 56, 59, G6, 07, 82, 83, 84, 85, 
86, 99, 128, 177, 236, 247, 369, 383. 

Winthrop (Governor John) Ten-Hills 
Farm. See Ten-Hills Farm. 

Winthrop Highlands (Winthrop), 8, 
11. 

Winthrop Square, Charlestowu, 69. 

Winthrop Yacht Club, 12. 

Winthrop's Hill (Taylor Mountain), 
Middlesex Fells, 57. 

Witch Hazel Run, Blue Hills, 350. 

Woburn, 129-145 ; .sketch of, 120. 

Woburn Centre, 110, 120, 125, 137, 
141. 

Woburn Centre station, 119, 139, 142. 

Woburn Forest Park, 119, 140. 

Wolcott (Roger) estate. Blue Hills 
region, 346. 

Wolcott Hill, Blue Hills, 333, 340, 
346. 

Wolcott Pines, Blue Hills, 346. 



WoUaston Heights (Quincy), 369, 379. 

Wollastou Park, Quincy, 378. 

Wood Island Park, East Boston, 8, 18, 

24. 
Woodlawn Cemetery, Everett, 28, 32, 

35. 
Woodside Park, Winthrop, 8. 
Woodward, earlier Ames Tavern, site 

of, Dedham, 359. 
Worcester turnpike, old, 266, 278. 
Wright's Pond region, Middlesex 

Fells, 47, 53, 54, 94. 
Wright's Pines, Middlesex Fells, 51, 

53. 
Wyman, Jabez, and others, killed 19th 

April, 1775, grave of, and monu- 
ment to, 110, 111, 249. 
Wyoming (Melrose), 32, 33, 42. 
Wyoming station, 42, 47, 55, 61. 

Yearaan house, oldest in Suffolk 
County, 26. 

Zion's Hill, Woburn, 119, 144. 



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